Myth
by Just Another Soul
Summary: Not every grand tale is about a hero or a god, for not every legend exudes the coveted glory of its namesake. Some myths are forged in filth, and they are damned to be confined to the underworld. A Shenhua origin story.
1. I

**Myth**

_-noun_

a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or event, esp. one that is concerned with deities and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.

Disclaimer: Black Lagoon and its characters © Rei Hiroe

* * *

**I: THE LITTLE DRAGON**

Legend. It is a single word that brings about the thought of a grand tale of a grander character, a story of arduous endeavors and epic journeys. It is a word that invokes the deepest memories of a culture, of a person, and the greatness of such a tale, if told over time, can gain the status of a myth. Yet not every grand tale is about a hero or a god, for not every legend exudes the coveted glory of its namesake. Some myths are forged in filth, and they are damned to be confined to the underworld.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

The small child wiped at the scuff on her cheek and adjusted the short sleeves of her shirt. She shuffled lightly in place, waiting patiently by the short, shack-like building. She didn't seem to mind standing in the sun.

"So you're looking for a good time in Kaohsiung? There are some brothels we know of."

She looked down at the cracked concrete and nudged her foot against the wall, overhearing the nearby conversation, but not showing much interest. There was oncoming chatter switching between English and Mandarin.

"How about we take him to that new place? Those Thai girls are pretty good. Or perhaps the Vietnamese..."

"You useless dumbass. This _guilao_ is in Taiwan. Give him an authentic taste, pure Taiwanese."

"Like it matters. I doubt a _guilao _could tell the difference anyway."

"Excuse me, you two, but the _guilao _can understand everything you're saying."

"Oh, you speak our language? Why didn't you say so earlier? You made my brother look like an idiot with all that 'please and thank you' bullshit. So, what are you looking for exactly...?"

They were closer now, still talking amongst themselves. For a second, the girl looked up. There were three of them. She recognized the first two, Asian men in their late teens wearing standard T-shirts and shorts, Di and Lung. She had seen them many times in the past, third tier gangsters who weren't even fit for the lowest ranks of the local Triad. Lung was currently sporting a pair of sunglasses while Di's short black hair was styled into a mat of tiny spikes. Trailing behind them looked to be a stocky Caucasian man in his late thirties, dressed in a casual buttoned shirt and jeans.

She looked back down and saw shadows stop in front of her.

The men took in her appearance. A poor looking child wearing a faded red shirt and shorts with cheap flip-flop sandals, short black strands rising above the shoulders with a small tail of hair hanging off to the left side of her head, held up by a band with two red beads. Lung leaned down, putting a hand on the wall.

"Well, well, this is a treat. You again? Shouldn't you be in school?" he teased. His brother laughed as their tourist friend looked on in curiosity and discomfort, not quite understanding the situation. The girl kept her focus on the ground, saying nothing.

"Come on, don't be so cross." He tried to lift her chin so he could see her eyes, but she jerked her head away before his fingers could make contact. She still didn't speak.

Lung's eyes lit up when he suddenly understood.

"I see, I see! Business as always with you. I get it," he chuckled. He reached into his pocket and took out a couple of New Taiwan Dollars. The tourist recoiled in horror.

"This is what you want, right?" The gangster waved it in front of her face. "We'll take the usual. Oh, and something extra for our new friend over there." Without a second thought, the girl took the money and made a sharp turn into the alley next to the building.

"W-wait! Stop this! She's just a child!" the foreigner gasped. The gangsters shot him perplexed glances.

"The hell are you yelling about?" Di asked. "She's just getting some fruit."

She came out of the alleyway with a small basket before handing three bell apples to Lung. Seeing this, the tourist relaxed visibly.

"_Xie xie,_" thanked Lung. Still, she said nothing. He moved his sunglasses up onto his forehead and grinned, standing up straight and tossing an apple to his brother.

"Still not talking to us?" Di piqued. "Lung, what's with this rude girl?"

"Oh, oh! I get it!" Lung snapped. "It's her mother! She must be honoring her wishes! Who knew this cocky little bitch could be so obedient?" The brothers broke out in hysterics.

Her nose wrinkled and she curled her lip at the remark, shooting both of them a dirty look before taking the basket and walking away.

"_Hoon hoon_," she muttered.

Di and Lung squeaked in high pitched voices.

"'Stay away from the bad boys, Shenhua! You'll end up being a very sick woman!' I guess _she_ would know! AH HAHAHAHA!" The obnoxious laughter seemed to go on forever. She paid them no mind and kept walking, eventually falling out of their view.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Just you wait, I'm going to be a Triad!"

The group of teenage boys loitering underneath the fire escapes all shot unimpressed glances at the foolish, husky teen.

"They start recruiting at ten years. You're fifteen. The hell have you been waiting so long for? The United Bamboo Gang can't be that picky," said one boy. The group muttered in agreement.

"Not the United Bamboo Gang!" The husky teen pointed west. "I wanna get off this island and go for the Wo Triad in Hong Kong, become a Red Pole."

"A Red Pole? Why waste so much talent when you could try here for White Wolf, Zugen." The group turned towards the source of the sarcastic remark. A twelve year old girl emerged from one of the nearby alleys. Zugen sneered and stepped forward.

"Go fuck yourself, Shenhua," Zugen spat. "Get out of here. No girls allowed."

The girl named Shenhua grinned cruelly.

"Really, only boys can come here? I did not know this place was a brothel for gay perverts."

"Tch, cocky bitch," Zugen muttered. The group shared the disdain of their leader.

"What are you doing here, Shenhua? Shouldn't you be out on your corner?"

"I'm done working for today. I was just on my way home." She turned on her heel, but Zugen stepped in her way.

"You're done? But you still have some food left," he noted, looking in the small basket she held. "Unless you came here to give us the leftovers. What a nice girl, coming all this way. You'll make a good wife someday." He reached into the basket and Shenhua slapped the top of his hand before pulling away from him.

"Get away from me, Zugen! This food isn't yours to have."

"Oh yeah? Then maybe you can pay our toll."

Shenhua growled and her eyes flickered back and forth, noticing Zugen's posse forming a circle around her. What a wonderful decision she had made. She knew she should have taken the long way home.

Zugen reached out towards her.

"Today's earnings should cover it."

She dropped the basket and reached into her pocket. There was a flash of motion and Zugen screamed, holding onto his hand.

"Shit! She has a knife!"

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Di and Lung strolled down the sidewalk, their tourist friend trailing behind them.

"Really, what a terrible girl. She keeps up with that attitude, she really will become a sick woman." Lung said, handing an apple to the tourist.

"Won't be too bad looking, though," Di commented. "She's looks pretty hard up right now, but she'll grow nicely."

"You better not let _her_ catch you talking like that," Lung cautioned, taking a slow bite from his apple. All the humor had suddenly disappeared. Di shook his head.

"You think I'm that much of an idiot? It's fine to talk when we're alone like this, but not around that bitch. No way."

"Her? Who are you talking about? That girl?" the tourist interjected. Di and Lung looked at each other, sharing a grin.

"That brings us back to our original topic," Lung mused. "You're looking for a whore, yes? Well, that girl happens to be the daughter—"

"A child of a prostitute?" The foreigner almost dropped his apple.

"Don't act so surprised. There are plenty of them running around," Di dismissed, taking a bite out of his own apple. "The kid is only the beginning of your troubles. Her mother, now, that's a bigger story."

"How do you say it? In a nutshell," Lung paused, "if you come across a woman named Jin Long, turn away or prepare for a... memorable night."

The tourist seemed confused.

"Jin Long? What kind of name is that for a woman?"

"You'll understand if you ever meet her," Di explained. "Don't get us wrong, she's crazy in bed. Well worth the money, but she's insane in other ways, too..."

"Don't touch the little dragon," Lung warned, "or you'll get more than you bargained for. One of her customers saw the child and patted her on the head. Jin Long didn't like it. The next morning, he woke up in the street with one less appendage." Lung pointed down, and the tourist cringed.

"As long as you don't mess around with the kid, you're safe," Di reassured. "But, what we're telling you is, Jin Long is dangerous. It would be wise for you, for anyone, to stay away. However, if dangerous is your thing, I can only recommend you wear kevlar." He snickered.

"And beware of a knife wielding hunter," Di added. "She is Liuyedao's girl, isn't she?"

"Yes and no," Lung confirmed. "It depends. Oh, hey, _guilao_, don't get that uneasy look. Liuyedao's not possessive, and I heard he's been retired for a couple years now. Been spending all his time in the Philippines. You'll never meet the guy. Now, where were we? That brothel I was talking about..."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Shenhua lunged forward, but the movement was a second too slow. Zugen avoided the blade and grabbed both of her wrists. He used sheer force to overpower her and slammed her into the wall, pinning her against it. He grinned when he looked up from her contorted face and saw the butterfly knife gripped tightly in her right hand.

"Pretty cool knife," Zugen mocked, "but all you've got is cheap parlor tricks."

The surrounding group of boys chuckled in amusement.

"You don't think I can be a White Wolf or a Red Pole, but I'll let it slide. I know you're just jealous." Zugen leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.

Suddenly, a tall shadow emerged and the gang of street boys turned around, their eyes growing to the size of saucers. They all whimpered before they scattered like cockroaches, flailing their arms and running away. Zugen noticed none of this. All of his attention was focused on Shenhua, and he didn't see the immense shadow looming over him.

"You think my chances of gaining rank in the Triads are slim, but you've got nothing going for you. Girls can't be Triads, Shenhua, and you're a crappy knife fighter. But, hey, if you want to get out of this dump, you can always tag along and be my girl."

A choking sound emanated from Zugen as sharp claws gripped his throat from behind, digging into his neck with beastly strength. He let go of Shenhua as he was picked up off the ground and forcibly turned, staring into the eyes of a dragon.

A woman wearing immodest attire, a simple red top and short skirt revealing sensuous curves and slightly tanned skin, her long hair drifting several inches past her waist. She was much taller than the average _benshengren _woman, and her dark high-heels only added to her height. But that wasn't what was on Zugen's mind. All he could see was a beautiful, but wrathful, face, harsh lines underneath the eyes, evidence of a hard life and signs of aging. The steel-like glare and blood red lips around the clenched teeth nearly made him piss himself. He showed a shaky smile in panic.

"H-hello, Miss Jin Long. I-I was just talking with Shenhua..."

The woman exhaled and Zugen coughed. Her breath reeked of smoke. She leaned in closely and displayed a disgusted smile.

"Talk like that with my daughter again and I promise you, the Triads won't be the ones who will slice you apart when you step out of line," she hissed. With that being said, she stiffly set him down on the ground and let go of his neck. He stared up at her, shaking like a leaf. Jin Long sneered at the stupid boy and slapped him with the back of her hand.

"Go! Get the hell out of here!"

Zugen did as he was told and ran away, crying for his mother. Jin Long held a tense stance as she looked down at her daughter.

"Mama..." Shenhua whispered.

"I thought I told you not to take this way home. Too many punks."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. Jin Long nodded, before her eyes narrowed as she noticed Shenhua hiding one of her hands behind her back.

"What do you have there?"

"Nothing." Shenhua tried to shift away, but Jin Long grabbed her wrist and yanked the knife out of her hand. She looked at the blade and shook her head.

"A Balisong. Shenhua, how many times have I told you? No more knives," she sighed exasperatedly, her steel gaze never wavering. "Do I need to spank you again?"

"No," Shenhua said quickly, her hands instinctively covering her rear end. A scowl appeared across Jin Long's face before she sighed again, shrugging.

"I'll take this for now," Jin Long said, moving her fingers deftly and closing the butterfly knife. Shenhua breathed out, thankful she wouldn't have another spanking, but saddened that her newest knife was taken away. She walked over to the basket she dropped and started putting the remaining fruit that had fallen out back inside.

"How much did you make today?" Jin Long asked. Shenhua stood up and pulled the money out of her pocket, handing it over to her mother.

"Hmm," Jin Long hummed, counting. "We've seen better days, but with my earnings, this will do." She gave the money back to her daughter and put her hand on her shoulder, pulling her close to her side.

"Let's go home and clean ourselves up. We're going to the temple today."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

The scent of sandalwood wafted through the air, thin lines of smoke rising and twirling. There was a faint glow within the temple, the interior tinted a shade of cinnamon. Among the Taoist symbols, young Shenhua noticed a familiar statue of a deity alongside a ba gua, Guan Yu. For a moment, she questioned his presence in the temple and turned towards her mother, now in more modest dress. But upon seeing her in deep concentration, Shenhua stayed silent. It wouldn't be wise to break the iron dragon out of her peaceful trance. The young one would have to wait.

It was nightfall by the time they left the holy sanctuary, and the iron dragon held her offspring close. The streets were lit with several lanterns, not for the sake of celebration, but for the purpose of necessity. Only then did the young one ask her question.

"Mama, why is it that the patron god of the Triads is in the temple?"

"_Guanshengdijun_ is revered by many people," the iron dragon explained, never breaking her stride. "Triads are not the only few who find significance in the deity. Guan Yu has been a noted entity for many centuries and he holds a deep meaning to many, Triad and Taoist alike."

"But what does Guan Yu have to do with it?"

"Foolish girl, what have I taught you? He was given the title of an immortal long ago, introduced into the Taoist pantheon."

"I still don't understand, mama." The young one's confusion was visible. "How can an immortal associated with Taoism also be important to gangsters? Guan Yu is supposed to represent righteousness and honor, right? How could the Triads have interest in something like that?"

"The Triads have their own idea of righteousness and honor," said the iron dragon dryly. "And Guan Yu is also seen as a deity of war. Listen to me, Shenhua. I've told you he holds a deep meaning to many, and those meanings can vary. But if you're asking about his importance to Taoism..." Jin Long tilted her head up and stared at her daughter through the corner of her eye.

"In my own opinion? His presence, the existence of the immortals, it doesn't matter," she said sternly. "The point of Taoism is harmony, balance, realizing your relationship with yourself and the world. Deities like Guan Yu are simply there as representations of the Tao, examples. There's no god you can pray to to help you come to a realization. You need to find your own balance, your own personal harmony within yourself."

The young one looked down, vexed. Now she had more questions, but she felt if she delved deeper into the matter with the iron dragon, she would only find more confusion.

They continued the walk in silence, paying no attention to the street vendors and occasional heckler. They were almost home until something caught the corner of young Shenhua's eye.

A glimmer, a shine. Something beautiful. She stopped in awe.

Jin Long halted as well and looked down.

"Shenhua, what is...?" It was then that she saw what entranced her daughter so.

A shop, or rather, what was inside of it. A myriad of blades, a personal arsenal if need be. Swords and knives, axes and daggers. The quality was impressive, but the iron dragon knew this type of shop was more a novelty than anything else. If a person wanted a weapon, a gun was the item of choice. Rarely anyone appreciated a well crafted blade. A bullet took priority over a sword.

She took note that her young Shenhua took particular interest in a pair of curved blades, khukris. Then, Jin Long saw it. There was a sparkle, a shine that reflected that of the weapons her daughter admired in those deep blue eyes. Passion, zeal, ardor. There was a bond.

The steel gaze in her dark eyes hardened and she jerked her daughter's hand.

"Come on, stop gawking. We need to go home now." The tone was harsh, cold. Young Shenhua repressed a whine as she was dragged away from the objects of her fascination.

Jin Long's steps were firm, precise. She was deep in thought. That look on Shenhua's face, she had seen it elsewhere before.

It was at that moment the iron dragon knew. She had an epiphany.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Liuyedao was a strange man.

A tall, lithe figure in his late-forties with balanced proportions of muscle and short dark hair. His tanned flesh had a leather-like property from spending too much time in the sun, some telltale scars across his body. He had a dark blue traditional Chinese top with the high curved collar and cloth buttons down the front, tiny threads sticking out on the edges around his arms; he had ripped off the sleeves. The knees on the light blue jeans were split from much use, but it was a still a good pair. The black boots her wore were scuffed, but he hardly seemed to care.

And then there were his eyes. There was a zen-like aura to the blue orbs, calm, collected, but the deep lines around them and the jaded look of his face reminded her that he was the type of man who could easily cut your throat without a second thought. Calculating, cold, like that of a serpent.

A perfect match for the iron dragon.

Young Shenhua looked at the both of them standing across from each other, staring. It was like clockwork. The serpent would always arrive at their cramped apartment, twice a year at most, and he and her mother would share a silent conversation with a glance and a nod before she invited him inside and led him into her bedroom to spend the night, then he'd leave in the morning and that was the end of it. Little to no words were exchanged, but the dragon and serpent seemed to have an understanding between them. He wasn't like the other men that came to her mother, for Jin Long never gave Liuyedao a contemptuous glare when he would head out the door. Shenhua would never fully understand their relationship.

But either way, the child knew Liuyedao's presence meant she would have to spend the remainder of the time in her room with a pillow clamped over her ears.

As Shenhua retreated to her room, Jin Long curled her finger in a come hither motion, and Liuyedao followed without protest.

"It's been a while, Liuyedao. We have much to discuss. Let's make up for lost time, shall we?"

The serpent didn't seem to think too much of the words, unaware that his unorthodox mate had more in mind for him than their usual routine.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

The serpent and dragon shared a lurid dance, twisting and intertwining, almost every movement matched or accompanied by a well placed bite or scratch, both finding pleasure and amusement in their bawdy game for dominance. It was a long ritual, well into the break of dawn, but they were both sated by the end.

"You remember all those years ago?" Jin Long asked. She had finally caught her breath.

"A lot of things have happened to us over the years. Refresh my memory," Liuyedao said, absentmindedly twirling several of her black strands loosely around his finger.

"Yuan," she said simply, placing a hand on his chest. The serpent sighed in understanding.

"Oh, that. What of it? Did he find you after all this time?"

"Don't be stupid. Yuan was, still is, an idiot. He's probably forgotten about me and found a new mistress anyhow." There was no trace of jealousy or regret in her tone. "The only good that came from my relationship with him was that we crossed paths when you were hired for a kill. Too bad you ruined any future prospects with Yuan when you decided to run off with his mistress after you finished your job." She grinned.

"I couldn't leave you there with that idiot," he said simply. "But if I remember correctly, you took advantage of me and ran away after three months."

"Don't act so sore. You tracked me down here in Kaohsiung, didn't you?" she drawled. She rested her cheek against his collar. "You weren't that surprised when I ran away, were you? You knew it would happen sooner or later."

The serpent hissed, not in anger, but a bitter agreement. It was true. He was upset, but not surprised. That was simply the nature of the iron dragon.

"If it comforts you," Jin Long went on, "take solace in the knowledge I've always saved a special place for you in my bed."

Liuyedao nodded tightly. Their current social arrangement was odd, but it was more healthy for the both of them in the long run. The serpent knew he could only stay with the dragon for so long until he was devoured completely.

"But what I am saying is that you saved me all those years ago, and even after I betrayed you, you still come back to me every year."

"If you're calling me a fool, you're telling me something I'm well aware of, Jin Long."

There was no malicious intent between them, only empty banter.

"Do I hold any value to you, Liuyedao?"

"It depends. How much do you earn these days?"

She took no offense to the joke, but her grin disappeared.

"No, that's not it." She exhaled slowly and looked into his eyes. "Sentimental value."

"I'm here after all these years, aren't I?" he said evenly, shrugging.

The iron dragon hummed and laid her head against his chest again, staying silent for a minute. She had her answer. Now she had to execute her true intent...

"I pulled a butterfly knife off of Shenhua last month," Jin Long said suddenly. A flash of nostalgia washed over Liuyedao's face.

"A Balisong! That takes me back." He paused for a moment, thinking about what she had said. "You pulled it off of her? Did she try to stab you?"

"No, of course not!" said the iron dragon. "She used it against a street punk."

"Now that really takes me back," Liuyedao said thoughtfully. "But why did she have it to begin with? I thought you didn't approve of her playing with knives."

"I didn't give it to her. She has a habit of obtaining them herself. I don't know where she keeps getting them," she sighed. "She thinks I'm not aware of the collection she keeps under her bed. When she thinks I'm not paying attention, she goes up on the roof of the building to train herself, too."

"Self-taught?" Liuyedao mused. "And risking a spanking from you, I assume? Ha! That's determination. You have a special girl there, Jin Long."

"I know..." said the iron dragon solemnly. "... I know, which is why I want you to train her."

The serpent guffawed and threw his head back, thinking her words to be humor for his sake. Noticing her lack of response, he looked down and his smile vanished when he looked at her face.

"... You're serious?" he asked. The iron dragon nodded slowly. Immediately, Liuyedao shook his head.

"No, no, a million times, no."

"Why not?" the iron dragon hissed violently. "I know full well you are capable of teaching her. You have the experience, the skill."

"I'm a retired freelancer, Jin Long." He tried to get up, but she sank her nails into his chest and dug her knees into his stomach.

"Don't try to tell me you're rusty," she growled. "I know you spend all your time in the southern islands training with the knife fighters in the Philippines. She can train there in private."

"Why can't you raise her yourself?" the serpent countered.

"I've raised her to the fullest of my abilities. I've taught all I can teach her at this point. You are the only one I can trust to lead her down the right path!"

"The right path?" Liuyedao scoffed. "Woman, are you insane? Need I remind you what I am, what I've done? Think of what you're saying, Jin Long. Do you honestly want your daughter to be taken down a path paved in blood?"

"Yes."

A cold, horrid silence clung to the air. The iron dragon's glare had reached a dangerous extreme.

"... She was born in the underbelly of society, Liuyedao. The underworld is all she knows. I don't want her to follow in my footsteps."

"You're not making any sense," Liuyedao barked. "If depravity is your concern, take a second look. So what if she's on the underbelly society? Taiwan isn't that bad compared to the rest of the world, Jin Long. The Kaohsiung Incident happened well over two years ago; Taiwan will improve eventually. This is a fine place to raise your child."

"Need I remind you there's a brothel right next door?" Jin Long said sternly. "Need I remind you what my profession is? General society doesn't apply here. Look around this area, look at what I do for survival, what so many other women do for survival. You think Shenhua will think about being a doctor or a lawyer after seeing all this filth? I don't want her to be a common whore, Liuyedao."

She leaned in further to the serpent's face, sinking her nails deeper into his flesh.

"I know her fate. She is going to remain in the underworld for as long as lives, but so long as she is here, I want her to thrive. She still has a chance to be something great."

"You think becoming a killer is a greater calling?" Liuyedao asked cynically.

"Compared to a whore who has to lay on her back and be a toy for some pervert every night? Liuyedao, I want her to have a sense of control, a sense of power. I want my daughter to have pride. Don't lie and tell me you don't feel anything after all you've endured as a freelance hunter. Don't you enjoy it?"

The serpent grit his teeth painfully, tilting his head back. He couldn't lie. He did enjoy it.

"See?" she said.

"Jin Long, even if I was crazy enough to accept this, you're missing something important. Training is only one part of the person. It takes a special breed to be a freelancer. There has to be a desire there, some sort of instinct."

"I assure you, Liuyedao, she has it," she whispered sharply. "She has this look in her eyes whenever she sees a blade. She's entranced by it. Even as a toddler, whenever I told _The Legend of Sun-Moon Lake_, her eyes would light up the moment it came to the part where Da Jian Ge and Shui She Jie take the golden blades and slash the dragons to pieces. I've seen it, Liuyedao. I know it's there. She has what it takes to be a hunter."

"... Alright, say I believe you," the serpent began, "but what then? I warn you, the path of a hunter is not easy. It was hard enough for me in the beginning, but the underworld is particularly harder on women. Skill alone won't be enough. You say you don't want her to be a whore, but the sad truth is that she may have to use her body to lure others to their death long before she can prove what she can do with blades. Your wishes will have been in vain."

"No," Jin Long started. "My wish is that she will not have to use her flesh as her only tool. I know she will grow into a woman, and she may deceive others with her body, but when the chance comes for her to wield a sword she will have the pride of knowing that her profession lies in the business of blood, not of flesh."

"... Your daughter will despise you if you send her down this path, Jin Long," he whispered softly, a final plea for her to reconsider.

"She will despise me even more if I don't." The iron dragon loosened her grip, knowing she had Liuyedao right where she wanted him. There was a toothy smile and she raised a hand to his face, caressing side of his jaw. "And I don't think it would be proper for a father not to get acquainted with his daughter."

Liuyedao nearly choked.

"Agh! You lie!"

"Don't act so shocked," she teased. "You really don't see the resemblance? The instinct, the love of blades... and tell me, Liuyedao, how many _benshengren_do you know that have blue eyes?"

"A coincidence," Liuyedao defended. "That's all. You cruel woman, you expect me to believe she's mine? Blue eyes may be rare, but I know I'm not the only man who's shared your bed."

There was a throaty growl and Jin Long leaned forward to kiss him.

"Fine, don't believe me. But you will take her under your wing, won't you?"

"... I'm not sure." He looked off to the side contemplatively.

"Please Liuyedao," she pleaded, "Train her, take care of her. It's my sole wish for her." Jin Long frowned, and for one terrible moment, the steel gaze melted away and she bowed her head. It was then that the serpent realized just how badly she wanted this. It was not in the nature of the iron dragon to beg, to humble herself before anyone, and such a gesture could only be driven by pure desperation.

He sighed, defeated.

"Very well."

The iron dragon breathed slowly and looked at his eyes once more.

"And so long as you're respecting my wishes, I have another favor to ask of you."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she put her finger to his lips to cut him off.

"When you leave with Shenhua tomorrow, I never want you, or her, to come back to me."

"What?" he asked, dumbfounded. "But why...?"

"I want you to dedicate every moment of your time to turning her into hunter, no distractions and no interruptions." She then chuckled with a sad smile. "And when she finally earns the title of a killer, I doubt she'd want to associate herself with the likes of myself. Like you said, when I send her down this path, she'll despise me. It's a price I'm willing to pay."

There was a moment of silence. With an agonizing smile, the serpent leaned down to kiss his mate.

"You're a twisted woman, Jin Long," he stated. "And don't think I believe for a second she's my child."

The iron dragon returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Of course you don't, fool."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"B-but I don't wanna leave with him!" Shenhua sobbed, digging her head into her mother's lap and clinging to her skirt. Jin Long placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and lightly pushed her away, kneeling down to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Shenhua, stop making a scene."

"But I don't want to go! I want to stay here with you!" She wrapped her arms around Jin Long's neck in a death grip.

"Shenhua, stop it!" she hissed. Frowning, she reached back and grabbed young Shenhua's hands, firmly placing them at her sides.

"Here, this is yours," Jin Long said, quickly pulling out the butterfly knife she had taken away from her exactly one month ago. Her small mouth slightly agape, Shenhua tentatively took it.

"I thought you told me 'No more knives,'" Shenhua sniffled, wiping at one eye.

"I changed my mind."

Shenhua looked down at the weapon, unsure of what to say.

"Shenhua," Jin Long said softly, putting a hand on her daughter's cheek, "I know you don't understand now, but I am only doing what is best for you. This is for your future." Jin Long looked over Shenhua's shoulder and saw Liuyedao waiting by the docks with crossed arms, moving his head in a gesture.

"You should go now. The boat is leaving soon," said Jin Long. Shenhua looked back and forth between her mother and Liuyedao.

"Is he really my father?"

"That's not what matters. What matters is that he thinks he is... mostly." The woman cleared her throat. Shenhua shifted uneasily.

"Mama, can I come visit you?"

Jin Long faked a smile.

"Perhaps when you're older. You can come see me then, if you feel like it. Now go." The cool steadiness of the words betrayed Jin Long's true feelings. She sighed as Shenhua walked over to Liuyedao and they got onto the boat, successfully fighting back the tears and maintaining a steel-like gaze.

The iron dragon never did see her child again.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Mindanao was hot, unbearably hot.

She was in a small, remote village on the island, a far cry from modern civilization. Liuyedao had set her up in a tiny shack, only giving her a single bunk and a grimy restroom. She had thought the apartment she shared with her mother in Kaohsiung was small, but her current accommodations made her think otherwise.

When she put her things away, Liuyedao took her to a neighboring building, somewhat larger than the shack she would reside in. It was there Liuyedao introduced her to a group of men, his fellow fighters. Most of them were Pinoy, but there was also a blend of Japanese, Malaysian, Thai, and Chinese. They had all seemed shocked at Shenhua's presence, some of them amused, most of them vexed as to what Liuyedao was doing bringing in a cheap girl from Kaohsiung to Mindanao.

He had gone inside of the building to talk with them, leaving her outside with a bored looking stray dog and a fighting rooster with a tether around its foot. Shenhua pressed her ear against the door, eavesdropping. The first half of the conversation sounded like a heated argument, but once the initial confusion was vented, it sounded as though Liuyedao calmed them down enough to get a word in and give them all a sound explanation.

At least, that's what she thought they were doing. They were all speaking in Tagalog, couldn't understand a single word of it.

After more discussion, there was a lull.

"_Oh, malabo ito, pero kung may tiwala si Liuyedao sa sarili niya ay wala akong dahilan para mangatwiran._"

The words sounded calm and even. The men seemed to mutter in agreement.

"_ANO?_" There was a sudden outburst.

"_OK ito sa 'yo? Akala ko ay si Liuyedao lamang ang naloloko! O sige, payag na ako, at habang ginagawa na natin ito, lahat ng nawawala o lahat ng ulila ay tangkilikin natin! Impiyerno, turuan natin ng Kung Fu ang aso! Wala akong pakialam!_"

The voice wasn't necessarily angry, but there was definitely a presence of frustration.

A minute passed and she pulled away from the door when she heard the knob turn. Liuyedao looked down at her, unamused.

"You know, it's impolite to listen to other people's conversations." He had switched to Mandarin for her sake.

"What happened?" Shenhua asked. Liuyedao looked back inside the shack before turning his attention to her once more.

"Mercado just lost his mind. No big deal. He'll come around eventually. Everyone else accepts you staying here." Closing the door behind him, he put a hand on Shenhua's back and led her away from the building, seating her at a crudely made bench at the end of village. There was a chilling calm in his eyes. He knelt down to level his view with hers. There was a flash of movement and Shenhua saw him pointing her Balisong at her eye, the sunlight glinting off of the blade. She suddenly stopped breathing.

"I want you listen to me carefully, child. I just stuck my neck out for you in there, and you'd better not disappoint me. I took you here solely to honor your mother's wishes. She was adamant about your potential and for your sake, you'd better hope she's right. Myself and those men in there are dedicated to our art, and if you don't take it seriously, I'll have no problem passing you off to them as company for the night. You understand me so far?"

She nodded tightly, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her head. It wasn't because of the heat.

"Good. Now, blades: Do you have a passion for them?"

A nod.

"Do you want to learn how to wield one properly?"

Another nod.

"Do you want to master the art form of wielding a blade?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to silence her. His eyes narrowed.

"Think this over carefully. When I am done with you, you are going to be real killer, not a common gangster waving around a cheap gun. You will be a top predator, and you will be a master of your craft. But," he paused, "keep in mind the intent of your fate. You'll be trained in martial arts, but there will be nothing spiritual about your future occupation. If you have any moral scruples, throw them away now. You will be a killer for hire. Your only companion will be your weapon, and you will only pledge alliance to the almighty dollar. However...

"Let me make this clear to you," the serpent warned. "The path of a professional killer is not an easy one. As long as you are here, you will spend every waking moment training. Everything you do will be dedicated to honing your skills. There will be no distractions, and there will be no excuses. You will train as long as I tell you to train. If you do not get something right, you will keep trying until you do, even if it will take weeks, months, years. If you fall down, you will pick yourself back up. If you break your leg, you will limp during the lesson until I say you are done. If you are cut, you will not stop until I say your session is over. If you bleed and pass out, I will wake you up and make you finish what you've started. And trust me, child, you will bleed plenty. Everything you do in your life from here on will be for this."

He brandished the Balisong.

"Now, let me ask you again: Do you want to master the art form of wielding a blade?"

"Yes."

There was no hesitation in her answer.

* * *

**A/N:** Part Two will be posted next week.

I've been meaning to write this thing since I posted _Fantasy_. Yeah, that long ago. Also, this was done as a small party favor for Amigodude. If any of his avid readers remember, he had a cool Shenhua story of his own not too long ago and got me all excited about it— until he told me he couldn't pull it off and took it down, and in doing so, HE BETRAYED ME AND CRUSHED MY DREAMS! (Relax, he knows I'm kidding).

Hey, did you guys know that "Jin Long" and "Liuyedao" is Chinese for "JAS is unimaginative and you'll find proof of it when you type these words into a Mandarin-English translation tool,"? Really, if you are fluent in Chinese, feel free to slam me for the sickeningly unoriginal usage of any Mandarin. I'm well aware of my ignorance.

Why the Philippines? The khukri isn't the average Taiwanese weapon, but they are adopted by the knife fighters in the Philippines, and it's a nice little theory that Shenhua could have been trained there in _kali _and other martial arts when she was younger.

I figured the Tagalog was explained enough in context to not really need a translation in the long run, but for those of you who are curious enough:

_Oh, malabo ito, pero kung may tiwala si Liuyedao sa sarili niya ay wala akong dahilan para mangatwiran. _- Well, I am skeptical about this, but if Liuyedao thinks she has potential, I see no reason to argue.

_ANO? OK ito sa 'yo? Akala ko ay si Liuyedao lamang ang naloloko! O sige, payag na ako, at habang ginagawa na natin ito, lahat ng nawawala o lahat ng ulila ay tangkilikin natin! Impiyerno, turuan natin ng Kung Fu ang aso! Wala akong pakialam!_ - WHAT? You're all okay with this? Oh, I thought it was only Liuyedao who lost his mind! Well, fine, then! I'm all for it! Hey, while we're at it, let's take in every stray we find from now on! Hell, let's teach the dog Kung Fu! I don't care!

All Tagalog was generously translated by my mother, who is probably now wondering what went wrong when she was raising me.

Cheers.


	2. II

**II: DANCE OF THE BATTLEFIELD**

The cloak of night did nothing to diminish the humidity.

She licked her lips and wiped the sweat off her brow before reaching for another branch, squinting as she leaned forward. Only the moonlight guided her vision. The branches and leaves above her shielded a good dose of it, making it more difficult for her to see where she was going and what she was grabbing. She sighed quietly in satisfaction as she managed the get a good grip and pull herself up.

"This is stupid," young Shenhua muttered. Five months of training and this is where it got her?

"It's not stupid. It's practice," called Liuyedao from the ground. "This is building a skill that could save your life one day." Shenhua didn't bother looking down. She wouldn't have been able to see her teacher through the foliage below, let alone at night.

"How is climbing through the trees supposed to help me fight with knives?" She reached for another branch.

"Handling knives is only one part of your training. I'm teaching you how to be a hunter."

"Hunter of _people_," Shenhua emphasized. "What good does it do me looking for a... What am I looking for again?"

"Tarsier," Liuyedao barked. "If you're going to be a freelancer, you're going to be hunting in many environments. Your enemy will have a familiarity with their grounds, and you must gain an awareness of the new surroundings and how your enemy will manipulate them. It's been three hours now, Shenhua. You're looking too far ahead when you should be paying attention to the goal in front of you. What hopes do you have of hunting a person if you can't track down a small animal?"

"I don't even know what a tarsier looks like!" the young girl screeched in frustration.

"You're letting the heat interfere with your concentration. I've told you twice already: like a monkey and a rat combined, with very big eyes. You'll know it when you see it."

"Tch. I'll know it when I see it," Shenhua mimicked immaturely, frowning.

"That tongue of yours will get you in trouble," Liuyedao commented. "Would you be speaking while you're looking for an enemy? No? Then act with this animal as you would if you were hunting a person. Don't make a sound. Use your common sense."

Shenhua bit back a rude remark. She reached for another branch with a growl.

She paused in mid grasp. She saw something. She held her breath as she focused.

A tiny, fuzzy little creature about the size of her hand with a skinny pink tail and slender fingers. The small, circular ears were pulled back, the tiny nose and mouth pursed, the moonlight gleaming off the giant eyeballs taking up most of its head. It held its hands close to its body, hunched over and sniffing at the air.

_This_ is what she'd been looking for all this time? It looked like a furry alien.

A bug flew near Shenhua's head and the tarsier perked up. It jumped forward and caught the insect, subsequently landing on the girl's face and catching her off guard.

She screamed and grabbed at the tarsier, furiously throwing it away from her and losing her balance on the branch. She tried to tightly hook her legs around the branch she was sitting on and grab hold of another before she fell too far back, but she couldn't get a solid grip. Her fingers brushed the bark and she swung backward until her legs slipped off. She turned around as she fell and quickly, painfully, her stomach made contact with an outstretched branch that was seven feet from the ground. Her body bounced from the force of the hit and fell back again, landing on the forest floor.

Shenhua made a miserable sound as she turned over, vomiting and gripping her stomach.

Liuyedao covered his face with his hand, shaking his head in dismay. They had a _long_ way to go.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Liuyedao's fist came down, hard. There was an audible sound as it made contact with the girl's cheek. Shenhua's body moved with the hit, but she managed to stay on her feet, swaying slightly. Another hit came her way and she moved into a stance, planting her feet firmly and raising her forearm, blocking the strike. She moved her right leg in a sweeping motion, but the serpent countered the maneuver and shifted aside before she could make contact.

The men watched the sparring from a safe distance, their glances varying between mild amusement and clinical observation.

"Whoa, whoa! See the way she took that hit?" The short, slender man, Ling, bounced with his words, a giant grin on his face. His back was covered with Thai tattoos, his maroon tinted pants flowing slightly with each movement.

"Not too bad," huffed the abnormally tall Javanese man beside him on his right, "but she needs to work on her evasion."

"True, but you can't be too hard on her, Janrang. She did fall from a tree last night," said Ling. "It's impressive she didn't break anything. From what Liuyedao said, she was pretty high up."

"Those who try to claw their way too quickly the top only set themselves up for a greater fall," dully mused the Japanese man with _irezumi_ tattoos on Ling's left, looking on analytically with crossed arms. "It's a good lesson for the girl to learn. It will teach her not to rush things."

"I guess you'd know the dangers of clawing your way through the underworld, eh, Tora?" Janrang gestured to two of the man's fingers, both digits drastically chopped off. "Your Yakuza days would make for a nice cautionary tale."

Shenhua was cooking in the sun, the dirt of the arena sticking to her dark blue training clothes, sweat dripping down her forehead and soaking the collar of her shirt, and she was still enduring the pain in her gut from when she fell last night. It was agitating. The sparring session had started in the morning and was now working its way into the afternoon. After all this time, she _still_ hadn't gotten a single hit in. The child tried to remedy this by striking a blow from the side, but the serpent quickly evaded it and grabbed hold of her arm, lifting her up and throwing her over his head in an arc, slamming her into the ground.

"We'll see how long it takes the girl to progress here before I decide to share a gangster's bedtime story," Tora said flatly.

"There you are!"

Tora kept his eyes on the sparring match while Ling and Janrang looked behind them, seeing a middle-aged Filipino man with a shaved head holding a slightly battered fighting rooster in the crook of his right arm, his left hand holding a bloody beige-colored bag.

"Oh, Tandang, it's you. The cockfight is over already? How did it go?" Janrang asked.

"Good news, we're having adobo tonight!" Tandang lifted the bloody bag with a smile.

"The loser, I assume," Ling said.

"Five years old and still a champion," Tandang stated, moving his right arm and pridefully lifting up the prized rooster.

"Yes, that's nice. So how much did you win?" Janrang asked quickly.

"How barbaric," Tora said suddenly, still not taking his eyes off the fight. The three of them looked at the Japanese male.

"What? Did we miss something? Did Liuyedao go too far?" Janrang asked.

"The cockfight," Tora said calmly. "It's one thing for man to engage in a battle to the death; it's man's choice. But for man to force a creature to battle for their sake, that's just cruel." He didn't flinch as he saw Shenhua take a punch to the gut.

"We don't force them to fight, Tora. These roosters are like us," Tandang argued. He cradled the bird proudly. "They are fighters by nature. It's in their blood. The urge to do battle runs through their veins. To suppress and deny the creatures of their instinct is what is truly cruel."

Shenhua wiped the blood off her lip and unleashed a battle cry, running toward Liuyedao at full speed and leaping into the air, her foot aiming for his head.

"It's one thing if nature intends the battle," Tora said evenly. "It's another if man leads them into the pit."

Liuyedao grabbed Shenhua's ankle and swung her around one time before letting go, the momentum making her fly outside the ring. Tora shook his head.

"And if I remember correctly," Tora said, his voice rising with emphasis, "I don't recall roosters naturally tying blades to their feet to up the ante in a fight."

"You know what?" Tandang said grudgingly. "Just for that, no adobo for you."

"You're a lousy cook anyway."

With a groan, Shenhua pulled herself up, looking back at her teacher, waiting for a signal that the sparring session was over. No such luck. Holding her stomach, she walked back into the ring.

"They're still at it?" came a new voice. The group looked over to see an elderly Filipino approaching them.

"Iro, how long have you been standing there?" Tandang asked.

"A while," he confirmed, "And I have a name. Mercado, not Iro. Unlike the rest of you, my identity doesn't lie with a nickname."

"Suit yourself, old timer," Ling shrugged. "These names are force of habit, you know. When the underworld brands you, it's hard to escape even the smallest details."

Shenhua was struggling just to keep her stances in check, but Liuyedao refused to ease up.

"What a bastard," Mercado mumbled. "That girl has no place in that ring."

"Since when did you become such a sexist?" Tora asked. "There are plenty of female hunters around. Great White from Sarkhan, for example."

"I am not against a woman learning how to master the craft," Mercado remarked.

"Then why did you protest so heavily when Liuyedao wanted to let her stay here all those months ago?"

"Look at her," Mercado commanded. All the men focused on the ring. Shenhua panted heavily, her stances becoming sloppy. She remained purely evasive, no longer trying to block the hits, let alone trying to inflict any damage herself.

"That's not a woman. That's a child. Do you really think she should be subjected to the torture that awaits her?"

As if proving Mercado's point, Liuyedao spotted an opening. He raised his foot and brought it down on Shenhua's left leg. There was an agonizing crack and a cry ripped at her throat, immediately falling over and curling into a fetal position. The serpent wove his way in front of her.

"Forget the pain. Your focus must be elsewhere. Your enemy is not going to care if you're injured. Move."

Mercado sighed in disapproval at the scene.

"Liuyedao is the best fighter of all of us, but he's the harshest teacher. Do you all remember that man who came from Basilan so many years ago? He was already a skilled fighter, but he wanted to expand his abilities. He got on his knees and begged Liuyedao for weeks to teach him. Liuyedao refused many times, telling him how hard the path would be, but he ignored the warnings and kept insisting. Finally, when Liuyedao accepted, that man was gone within two weeks. He gave up, couldn't take the training anymore. And it happened not only to that man, but others over the years as well. I've seen how each and every one began and they all ended the same way."

Liuyedao threw another punch her way. Shenhua rolled over to evade the hit and placed her forearms on the ground, pushing the upper half of her body up with a snarl.

"They were soft," Tora retorted lowly. "They could fight, but they lacked the spirit. All those grown men who asked for his help, those who gave up, they were not worth the effort. This girl..." He took a moment.

"She is Liuyedao's daughter, so perhaps there's a chance she could make it."

"Really? She's his kid?" Ling asked suddenly. "I thought Liuyedao only took her in because she's Jin Long's brat. You know, like a favor for his wife."

"Jin Long is not his wife," Janrang corrected him.

"Well, something like that. Closest thing to it. He liked her enough to take the kid in, didn't he?"

"I thought he took the girl in because Jin Long told him she was his daughter," Tandang interjected. "If he's not sure she's his kid and brought her here anyway, he's the biggest dumb ass on the island."

"You all realize we can hear you," Liuyedao grunted in annoyance, reaching for the machete strapped to his back. Not quite in the mood for an all out brawl, the men outside the ring grimaced and quickly scattered, leaving the two to their business.

Liuyedao let his arm settle at his side and looked down at Shenhua. Her arms were shaking, exhaustion written all over her. He looked into the dark, glaring blue eyes for a moment. A part of her still wanted to go on.

"Training is over for today," he said.

The ferocity disappeared when Shenhua's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her arms gave way, hitting the ground face-first.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

So, the serpent was capable of mercy.

She moaned groggily, cracking her eyes open. She was in her bed, and judging by the light from the lamp beside her, it was night out. A small electric fan was running, though it didn't cool her down much. Remembering the fight, she looked down and saw her leg bandaged in a splint.

"You must be very tired. You didn't wake up while I was twisting it in place."

She groaned. Not the nicest thing to hear. She probably looked like shit. The side of her face was tinted various shades of purple, there were bandages patched over her body, and her stomach still hurt.

"Rest for now," Liuyedao placed his hand on her head. "You fought well today."

"I didn't get a single hit," she mumbled.

"You held your own. Even with the broken leg, you would have kept going. That's the spirit you're going to need if you want to make it as an outlaw. The training will intensify, but you'll make it. I am certain of it now."

There was a small movement in the corner of her lip.

"But don't get cocky," Liuyedao warned. "You've still a long way to go before you earn the title of a killer, and keep in mind I'm not this merciful all the time."

She scoffed. Like that needed to be explained.

"When are you going to let me handle a bigger blade?" she asked. "I've only had a Balisong all this time."

"When you're ready," he reassured. "You still have more to learn before that point. You have to work on your balance."

"... Balance?"

"You don't focus well," the serpent clarified. "You need to take in your environment, your opponent, your own actions as a whole, see the bigger picture. You lack fluidity and foresight, a full awareness and better judgment. You need to have a balance of all your senses if you want to advance."

Shenhua said nothing, but she sighed slowly. She was in a bad _wuxia_ story.

"You share your mother's religion. Taoism is balance, harmony within yourself and the universe, maintaining your being. If you can accomplish an understanding between yourself and your environment, it will help you along with your training, and beyond. This balance will help you as a killer, keep you on your feet, keep you alive."

She moaned lightly. A very, very bad _wuxia_ story.

"Our craft is a dance for the battlefield," the serpent went on. "You learn the moves step by step, each set becoming more complex and difficult. It takes time to master, but once you have it down, it becomes ingratiated with your instinct. You will know the moves by heart, and you will know how to act."

Shenhua closed her eyes.

An extremely, horrifically bad _wuxia_ story.

... but there was a point.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

**Five Years Later**

Thunder rumbled across the clouded sky. Nails filled with dirt and remnants of bark, she hacked through the thick foliage with machete before putting it away in the sheath on her back, spotting a high point and climbing up a tree, not bothered by the thick dose of heavy rain falling from above. The water failed to wash away every bit of filth caked onto her skin. The blue training clothes clung tightly to her form, mid-length raven hair tied back and resting lifelessly along her side, the many bandages covering past wounds soaked. There wasn't an inch of her body that didn't hurt, but she paid it no mind.

She perched herself on the branch, staring ahead into the intertwining flora, waiting...

_Whoosht!_

She jerked her head to the side and a flying star dug itself where her eye had previously been leveled. Flipping backward on the branch, she slipped fluidly from her resting spot and leaped from branch to branch, avoiding the groups of small blades thrown in her direction.

Most of the flying stars missed her as she stuck the landing, one lucky blade managing to stick into her shoulder. She hissed as she grabbed some of the blades that had missed her and ducked behind a tree before aiming and throwing them back into the rain forest.

"Aah!"

She smiled as she heard a dull rustle of leaves when the body fell.

She ran toward the source of sound, pushing past the twigs whipping at her face. She ducked down as there was a small glimmer in the dark, a katana swooping over her head and slicing itself into the middle of a tree.

"What an overrated sword," Shenhua taunted.

"Say that again, you arrogant bitch."

Tora's clinical eyes narrowed as he took the katana out of the tree and brought it down.

She blocked the blow as she revealed her _baat jam do_, butterfly swords, hooking the cold steel in the sai-like crossguards and pulling the weapon out of his hands. Tora blocked her kick to his gut, but left his face open. The punch to the jaw with the knuckle guard of her swords was the equivalent of getting whacked with brass knuckles. Already weakened and disoriented from the stars embedded along his leg and torso, he fell backward and felt her foot on his chest. She took hold of the katana and zeroed in on his neck. She sank the blade in swiftly, deeply.

"Still overrated," she whispered.

"Impressive," came a voice from behind her. She ripped out the katana and twirled around, holding a stance and pointing the tip of the sword at Liuyedao's throat.

"Tandang yesterday, Ling the day before, poor old Iro before those two, Janrang on your first day, and now there lies the great tiger himself, killed by his own weapon. That's beyond cold, my student."

The serpent smiled darkly and the heavy rain faded to a light drizzle.

"Congratulations, my fine student, you passed the gauntlet."

She kept the tip pointed at his neck, narrowing her eyes. She was wary of the statement, wondering if he had another trick up his sleeve.

"Not letting your guard down, very good," Liuyedao assessed. "However, you are permitted to relax. This session is over."

Slowly, she drew the katana back.

"Still think it's overrated?" asked Tora, propping himself up with a grunt and wiping the excess water off of his face. He held out his palm and curled his fingers inward.

"I knew that would mess with your head." Shenhua presented the sword properly with a bow at the waist.

"That wasn't a psychological tactic. That was a low blow," Tora said plainly, bowing as he took his sword and placed it back in its sheath. "Liuyedao, I hate feigning death. A true knock out round would have been more appropriate for this session. Like I would have been killed by my own blade..."

"Don't give us that false pride. She drove the katana this deep into the ground by the side of your neck." Liuyedao held his fingers ten inches apart. "If that had been a real fight, you'd be dead by now. The others knew it when she did battle with them, and you know it as well."

"Hm," Tora lowered his head. "I suppose I have no excuse to be bitter about the loss. A student of yours all these years, it's no surprise she's advanced this far. Just don't get overconfident, Shenhua. There's more to the underworld than you think. You won't win every battle."

"She knows the unwritten laws," Liuyedao stated. He looked back at his student. "Shenhua, go home and clean yourself up. I'm taking you into the next town tomorrow. There's someone I want you to meet. Don't ask now. I shall tell you when we get there."

Hiding a questioning glance, the teen bowed her head slightly in affirmation before heading home.

As she walked off, Liuyedao observed the stars embedded in Tora's body.

"You need help?" the serpent asked in Tagalog.

"How did they say it in that Holy Grail movie? A flesh wound," Tora shrugged. "If they were _feidao_, I'd be in trouble, but these stars are not in too deep. I'll be fine." The Japanese man looked in the direction Shenhua had walked off.

"You should have a talk with your student," Tora said. "She's grown into a woman, Liuyedao. When her training will be completed and you send her into the underworld, even the small-time gangsters are going to be drooling all over her. Not everyone can recognize a warrior."

Liuyedao sighed in understanding.

"I'll discuss it with her after she selects her companion."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

It had stopped raining for the time being, but grey clouds still filled the sky. A town near the coast, the tiny pastel-colored shacks were congested throughout. It was one of the more poverty stricken areas of the island, if not visible by the damaged buildings and dreary atmosphere, then certainly by the harsh look of the people. The citizens of the community went about their usual routines, not entirely sullen, but not entirely happy about their living conditions either. It was just how life was.

Shenhua was dressed in a simple red tank top and shorts with white sandals, her hair flowing freely to the center of her back. Liuyedao, donned in a basic black shirt and aged jeans, walked beside her.

"What are we here for?" the teen asked.

"I'm taking you to talk to a very special man," the serpent said. Shenhua had an uneasy look.

"... I never took you for a match maker, teacher."

"Not that kind of special. You'll see."

He guided her past a wall of hanging clothes and down a flight of concrete steps leading to a low ground building. The serpent opened the door and waited for his student to go in. Hesitantly, she entered.

The tiny bell jingled as the door was shut, and Shenhua was assaulted with a sudden blazing heat and a repeated hammering sound. Her discomfort was replaced with awe as she fully took in the building's contents.

Nearly every blade known to man from every corner of the world. Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, Indian, Malay, Mongol, Arabian, Spanish, French, Scandinavian... There was little to no bare space through the shop, all of it covered by finely crafted metals. How on Earth did someone manage to amass such a collection?

"The products of obsession," Liuyedao mused, putting a hand on Shenhua's shoulder. "Huo Niu makes people like us look healthy."

"Huo Niu?" She had never heard that name before.

"Who's there?" screeched a raspy voice from the back of the shop behind a cracked door. The language was in Mandarin.

"It's Liuyedao. I brought my student."

"Err... student? Student, student... Uh... Oh... yes, yes, yes. That thing you told me about. Come back here so she can choose."

"Is he drunk?" Shenhua whispered as they walked to the back door.

"No, he's just very old," Liuyedao leaned down to her ear, "... and not quite all there. But he's a fine bladesmith."

"Bladesmith?"

Liuyedao opened the door. There was a blazing fire in the corner, an old man with his back turned to them, a sharp hiss resonating throughout the room as steam rose. Huo Niu carefully lifted the blade out of the water and placed it aside, turning around to face his guests.

A seemingly frail old man, most of his teeth as well as his hair was gone. He was hunched over with a rather lazy look, his right eye drooping down while the other focused on Liuyedao and Shenhua. He listlessly walked over and looked the young teen up and down.

"This is your student, Liuyedao? Have you no conscience? A girl her age should be sorting through suitors, not soaking her hands with blood."

"You of all people have no right to pass judgment, Huo Niu. I have my reasons," Liuyedao remarked.

"Agh, I'm not in the business of morals anyhow." Huo Niu noted drolly. "What do you want?"

"Mmm," Shenhua stalled. She looked over at the serpent for guidance, not quite understanding the situation. Liuyedao didn't exactly give her all the details of their trip.

"I brought her here to select a companion," Liuyedao said.

"A companion?" Shenhua repeated.

"You've trained diligently over the years with many different blades. However, I know everyone has a preference." The serpent pointed to the different types of blades mounted on the wall. "Be it gun or sword, every fighter has their own companion. After all you have endured, you've proven you deserve it. When you make your choice, Huo Niu will forge it for you. But, do not be hasty with your decision; your life will be intertwined with the weapon you choose. It will be your sole companion on the battlefield, and you will rely on it always for survival. Choose carefully."

Cautiously, the young woman made her way over to the weapons. Liuyedao watched silently from a distance while Huo Niu scuttled over in excitement, watching her eyes wander.

"I see, I see. A dao, perhaps? Befitting of a Mainlander."

"I'm _Taiwanese_," Shenhua corrected. "And a dao is too big."

"Zai. Quick, you can steal your enemy's weapon away from them."

"I prefer a slashing weapon."

"The katana. Very sharp."

"Overused," she muttered.

"Butterfly swords. Extremely versatile."

"I'm tired of butterflies." She looked down and held her chin in contemplation, until she saw them. Her breath had been taken from her, and her eyes sparkled with childlike adoration.

Huo Niu puckered his lips in confusion.

"... Khukri?"

"Yes, the Ang Khola! I want a pair for dual wielding!"

"Nepalese. Not a common request for a _benshengren_," Huo Niu informed. "Are you certain this is the weapon you want? You may as well have machetes."

"No, not machetes. _Khukris_," Shenhua demanded, not taking her eyes off the weapons. "They are deadly ceremonial blades; killing is a ritual for a hunter. They are perfect companions."

The serpent showed a prideful look at her words.

"Yes, you are definitely Liuyedao's student." Huo Niu rolled his left eye, the right staying in its permanent drooping state. "You are certain, young woman?"

"Yes."

"So the choice has been made." Huo Niu waved his hand dismissively. "A pair of Ang Khola khukris. I will have to import the steel... Aiya, it takes long enough creating one, but two? You will being waiting a while. I will contact you when I've forged them."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

They strolled by a row of shacks down the coast.

"How long is 'a while'?" Shenhua asked.

"You can never tell with Huo Niu," said Liuyedao. "He may be a bit senile, but he's a perfectionist. For all we may know, it could take several months for him to forge your companions."

"... I see." She was slightly disappointed she would have to wait so long, but that didn't completely diminish the swelling pride and joy she felt. Her own khukris...

"You know this is not the end of your training," Liuyedao started. "You may have earned your own blades, but you still have much to learn before you can call yourself a freelancer. If you are going to wield them in the field, you must increase your familiarity with them tenfold."

"I understand, teacher."

"... Yet even after I deem you worthy of being a freelancer..."

"What's wrong, teacher?" Shenhua realized he looked more solemn than usual.

"The underworld is not a kind place, Shenhua." He pointed to a scar running alongside the crook of his neck. "Even with my own training, I still had severe difficulty finding my footing in the beginning."

"I know I can get hurt, teacher. You've shown me this many times."

"No, not that," Liuyedao sighed. "It was hard enough for me and... Hunting is not exclusive to any one type of person. There many kinds of killers, but sadly, there's a presence of a... double standard."

The teenager cocked an eyebrow.

"Exactly what are you trying to tell me, teacher?"

"You know of the Triads, Shenhua?" Liuyedao asked suddenly.

"Of course. I saw members of the United Bamboo Gang back in Kaohsiung."

"Do you know of any female members, Shenhua?"

"No, women can't join..."

"Then, Shenhua, what's the closest a woman usually comes to being affiliated with the Triads?"

"... Whore," she said simply, anger flaring up. "Teacher, are you telling me—?"

"Your training all these years is not a waste," Liuyedao assured her.

"Then what is it you're implying?"

"There are women who are drawn to the underworld, and only a handful have earned the title of a hunter. The rest, the majority, are like your mother." There was no rudeness in his tone, only sullen cynicism. "When people see a young woman in the underworld, they assume she's a prostitute or gangster's moll, not a fighter. This is not a problem for those with a killer's reputation, but that reputation must first be established in order for her to gain recognition. That, in itself, is a battle."

"So, what, you're saying I'll be seen as a common whore?" she asked bitterly.

"If you allow yourself to be treated as such," Liuyedao said sternly. "Do not let their poor judgments deter you. The path is hard, but you have what it takes to persevere. Always know that your profession is of blades and blood. Not every villain can see a warrior at first glance. You'll have do your part to open their eyes."

There was a long silence between them as they walked.

"... I understand," she said quietly.

A loud cheer came from the building next to them.

"_Sabong_," Shenhua noted.

"Hmm, a cockfight at this time of day? I wondered what happened to Tandang," Liuyedao said. "He's probably inside. I've been meaning to speak with him. Do you want to come in with me?"

"No, thank you, teacher. I'd rather wait out here."

Liuyedao nodded and went in as she leaned against the building, thinking about what he had said. She knew the path was going to be hard, but the realization that people would view her as a lowly whore at first glance was frustrating.

"Ugh, how stupid are you? I told you I wanted coffee!"

Shenhua nonchalantly looked over where the banshee-like screaming was coming from. Strange, it was in English. Even stranger, a pretty blonde woman with large hair wearing a white shirt and pants with a light blue ascot around her neck, probably American, chewing out what looked to be a small filming crew. They were all standing a short distance away.

"There is no coffee here," said the meek camera man, struggling to hold the cup and the camera. "All we could find is milk."

"Fucking useless, all of you." The blonde woman knocked the cup out of his hand. "Whatever! I'm tired of wasting my time with these little brats! Let's get this 'save the children' shit over with so I can get back to sipping martinis in Malibu!"

"Malibu?" the director asked. "Wouldn't you like to explore the rest of the country? If a beach is what you want, I heard there are some nice ones in—"

"I'm sick of the fucking Philippines!" the woman screamed. "I'm sick of Asia! Shit, after hearing about what happened at that San Zhi Resort they had to shut down in Taiwan, I'm not spending a vacation anywhere in this continent!"

"Not all Asian resorts are like that. Besides, that resort wasn't even open to the public. It was still being built," the director pointed out. "All those accidental deaths happened to the workers building the place."

"I heard those people died because the place was cursed when they sliced a dragon statue in half," said a man with large mike.

"Really?" asked the camera man. "I thought it was because they decided to build the place on top of a burial ground."

"SHUT. UP." The blonde woman's eye was twitching and she pointed at the Rolex watch on her left wrist. "The longer we shoot the breeze, the longer we're on this godforsaken island! Let's start filming!"

"Uh... Well, wait, shouldn't we ask the residents if they want to be filmed first?" asked the camera man. "I feel bad without asking permission. It'd be like taking advantage of their situation."

"Fuck the residents," the woman said callously with a flip of her hair. "If they're upset about the filming, give them ten dollars to shut them up. It's like a million in their currency."

"But, these people—"

"How hard is this for you to understand, jackass?" She moved wildly with her hands. "Look at this place! Shit as far as the eye can see. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! You can work with this. Film a slum, find a hungry looking kid, zoom in on his face, insert some sappy music later, and voila! We have 80% of the commercial! All I need to do is put on a sad face, make up a bullshit story about starvation and lack of education for the bleeding hearts and we'll be done."

"Make up a story?" the director asked incredulously. "Don't you think that's going a bit too far? I don't think these people would appreciate it if you gave a phony narration of—"

"Oh, please! These bastards don't speak any English. No one will understand a word I say."

Not quite, Shenhua thought. For the years she'd been living in the Philippines, she had been learning English along with her Tagalog. The Taiwanese teenager wasn't entirely fluent in English, but she understood enough to know she didn't like that woman very much.

The temperamental blonde screeched.

"Start rolling!"

"Wonder why I came here when she could do my job..." the director mumbled.

The woman looked calmly at the camera as the filming started. She walked backward slowly.

"Hello, I am Ally Strader. I am here in one of the most poverty stricken towns on the Philippine island of Mindanao." The banshee's voice had changed to that of an angel. Shenhua found something sickening about the false tone.

"Mindanao means 'Land of Promise', but this land is far from its namesake. Families struggle to put food on table, and starving children go several days without so much as a loaf of bread. Pursuit of the mighty dollar leaves many looking for jobs at a young age, neglecting education."

As Ms. Strader looked over her shoulder, she noticed a teenage girl leaning against a building. The shallow celebrity quickly walked over to her.

"It is already too late for this young woman, an immigrant from China..."

Shenhua paid the woman no mind, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She looked off the side, reminding herself of her training. Restraint, control. She tried to ignore the celebrity.

"Her family came here to escape communist rule and provide a new life for her, but only days after their arrival, her parents were killed for what little money they had in their pockets. Ever since, she has been an orphan."

Shenhua cocked her lips to the side in annoyance. She tapped one foot against the pavement, trying to keep her patience.

"She should be in high school, learning and spending time with friends. But education was not available to her..."

Shenhua sighed deeply and closed her eyes in frustration.

"And now, to earn an honest day's pay, this teenage girl must resort to prostitution in order to—"

Shenhua grabbed the back of the woman's head and bashed her face into the wall.

The film crew shared a tight smile and the camera man lifted his head.

"And that's one for the blooper reel."

* * *

**A/N: **Little did Shenhua know that approximately 25 years later, that blooper would end up on Youtube.

This chapter was the most difficult part for me, and no doubt it probably shows. I racked my head back and forth trying to think of something for Shenhua's adolescent years and this is what was churned out. I'll admit it's too fast paced and skips too much, but I really couldn't write anything more without turning the entire ordeal into a cheesy evil wuxia parody. Well, any more of a cheesy evil wuxia parody than it already is.

Stay tuned for the final part and epilogue.

Cheers.


	3. III

**III: MASTERPIECE OF THE HEAVENS**

**Six Years Later**

The maiden gazed at her reflection.

Flowing black hair, a blessing to represent the western skies of paradise. Dark blue eyes, a coveted symbol of immortality, and a heritage of death. Pink, a sense of foreign intuitions, an unfamiliar grace and profound femininity. A white jacket for mourning, an invitation for the grave. Gold inlays and outlines and jewelry for power, a flash of imperial sanctity. Red silk for fortune, for happiness, for joy.

No.

The crimson lips turned upward.

Red for blood.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

So the emperor stared at the remnants of his empire.

Rather, a man who thought himself the status of an emperor. Bravado and an inflated ego was a notable trait of the gangster Yuan. Well into his fifties, the plump man sat in a plush, red leather chair while his subordinates tended to brushing the dust off the shoulders of his suit and combing the paling shoulder length hair that grew around a large, noticeable bald spot in the center of his scalp. Yuan's chubby fingers gripped the golden dragon-shaped armrests of his seat and admired the countless dragon-themed treasures he had amassed over the years. Expensive carpets, statues, plates, silverware. Even the floor was decorated with dragon motifs.

Surely, it was a display worthy of only the most deserving of gods, thought Yuan.

The faux emperor then turned to his right. A stunning young Taiwanese girl no older than 20, she wore a golden silk dress with sparkling white embellishments, dark brown hair pinned in a flamboyant, decorative fashion and almond shaped eyes that reflected an innermost goodness. She was a small, fragile woman. She seemed so innocent, so delicate, possessing a temperament like that of a doe.

Disgusting, thought Yuan.

Anyone could have a weak doe. Such a simple creature did no good of representing a man—no, a god such as himself. The young woman faired well as a notch on the bedpost, but was no companion. No, the great Yuan didn't want a fragile doe. He wanted an iron dragon.

_His_ iron dragon!

In a fit of rage, Yuan pulled out his gun and shot wildly into the air, causing his current mistress to scream as she instinctively crouched on the floor while Yuan's subordinates flailed out of the room.

That goddamn freelancer! He would never forgive that wretched snake Liuyedao! What shame, what anger the great Yuan felt when that repulsive serpent stole his precious iron dragon from him! He swore, if he so much as _sensed_ Liuyedao's presence—!

He aimed for a decorative plate with a snake hissing at a pig and squeezed the trigger, shattering the dish.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

"Twenty some odd years and he's still not over that crazy bitch," said a slim middle-aged male in a suit, cleaning his firearm. He stood at the bottom of a lavish staircase as the baby-faced guard standing opposite of him shot a questioning glance.

"What crazy bitch? You can't be talking about his last mistress, Mei Mei."

"Oh no, not that poor woman. I'm talking about a mistress from long ago, his favorite mistress. You probably weren't even born when it happened," said the older of the two.

"Well, don't just stop there, old timer. What is it about this mystery woman that gets him all riled up every day of the week?"

"I'm not that old, kid," he said flatly. "A little over twenty years ago, Yuan had a mistress. Beautiful beyond compare, Yuan would brag that flowers died of shame when in her presence. Yet everyone else under his employ had another theory as to why plants withered when she walked past."

"That's pretty fucking cheesy, old man, but okay. Go on."

"You smart-ass punk. Anyway, the mistress was indeed a beautiful woman, but one look in her eyes would reveal her true self. It was a look of steel, and her attitude toward those around her was like that of iron, a harsh element that would give way to nothing. She always had a regal air about her; despite that she was a prostitute, she still carried herself with dignity. Her ego wasn't overbearing like Yuan's, but..."

"But what?"

"There just something about that woman, some destructive power we could never adjust to. Yuan liked to think that he had tamed an iron dragon, but there was always something... wild, underneath those eyes."

"Sounds to me like you had the hots for her, old man."

The "old man" shuddered.

"Never joke about that!" he said wearily. "That woman looked like the type who would kill you in bed if you weren't wearing armor. She had supreme contempt for every man she laid eyes on. Except..."

"Oh, no, I see where this is going." The young gunman rolled his eyes. "Did she, per chance, meet a man who 'melted her iron heart'?"

"Not quite," said the older gunman. "She still had that cold look, but so far, he was the only one who got close enough to the dragon lady without getting torn apart. A freelancer Yuan hired for a big job that would take at least a month of planning beforehand. Everyone except for Yuan could tell she was interested in the hunter, and vice versa. It was like they both saw each other as a challenge, like some sort of opponent to conquer in battle."

"That... does not sound healthy."

"It probably wasn't. But it seemed to be working for them. Anyway, long story short, once the job was done, the mistress ran off with the freelancer to Roanapur and they've never been heard from since. As you could hear from the gunshots upstairs earlier, Yuan never got over it."

"So that iron dragon lady and that freelancer are still out there somewhere?"

"Most likely, but knowing that woman..." The older male shuddered again. "What worries me isn't knowing that she may still be alive, but knowing that woman may have spawned. Any child raised by someone like her, and with the help of a mercenary..."

"If they had ever had a kid," the young man interjected. "Come on, stuff like that only happens in novels and _wuxia_ epics. No one like that could exist in real life."

"... You're probably right," said the older guard. He sighed as he looked up at the marble staircase they stood at the bottom of. "No use worrying about ghosts of the past. We've more to worry about in the present. Our faction is at its weakest and our rivals under the White Wolf of the Bamboo Union are gaining power. Yet Yuan squanders his money on extravagant items he cannot afford. If he continues daydreaming like this, we won't last much longer. Including ourselves, we've only ten gunman at our disposal tonight, and thanks to Yuan's outburst we're the only guards indoors. One more fight and we may very well be doomed."

"I'd be thankful for a fight!" the young man said. "A real test of my skill. I'm tired of standing around and—"

As if on cue, the sound of gunfire went off outside the building.

"Thanks a lot, youngster," said the older gunman as he and his fellow guard got their firearms ready and aimed at the only entrance in the building.

The large, dragon engraved doors slowly split open and the two men opened fire upon seeing a dark silhouette in the moonlight. They stopped as they saw the silhouette move forward, and realized in horror that they had just shot one of their own men. Upon closer inspection, they saw a disturbing metal protrusion coming out of the man's solar plexus.

There was a high pitched titter from behind the corpse.

"If it makes you feel better, he was already dead."

The pointed metal protrusion disappeared into the corpse's gut and an apparition in red silk dashed toward the remaining gunmen.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Yuan was oblivious to the slaughter happening downstairs. His current mistress cried in the corner of the room as she clutched at her leg. The bullet had done quite a number on her kneecap, and the right side of her face was purple and swollen.

Yuan spat. How disgraceful. His iron dragon would never show such weakness. Dropping his empty pistol on the floor, the overweight man turned his back to the entrance of his office and stared in despair at an elaborate silver dragon statue holding a gold sphere on his desk.

"Why did you leave?"

The sniffling of Yuan's beaten, bleeding mistress filled the room as he hopelessly gazed at the small golden pearl in the dragon's claws.

Suddenly, his eyes grew with joy.

A tiny reflection in the gold pearl. A wondrous vision.

He turned around and his mind took a photograph of that single glorious moment.

Dark raven hair cascading over the shoulders, magnificent red silk with golden accents and a pure white jacket flowing through the air, a shimmer of stunning gold bracelets and jade earrings, a lissome, feminine entity leaping in a graceful arc with a cold, iron gaze. A tear slipped down Yuan's face as he spread out his arms.

"My beloved! You've come back to me!"

There was a wide, lovestruck smile on Yuan's face as his severed head hit the floor.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

**Four Months Later**

It was a popular dive on the outskirts of Taipei, favored and populated by more Western foreigners than the Taiwanese. At a small, round table in the corner sat a rather sad bloke in a gaudy red Hawaiian shirt, his nearly block-shaped head hovering over his drink as his friend talked to him.

"C'mon, Guy! Get your nose out of your mai tai!" said a lanky brunette man in his thirties with an abominably bright yellow T-shirt and a loud Welsh accent.

"Phrrmyrm," slurred the large bulk of a man. He wasn't drunk—he had barely touched his drink the entire night—, just distraught.

"Didn't catch that. Hell, you haven't said anything for a week. The fuck happened with you and the guys back in Hong Kong?"

"Damn it, Ieoan," said Guy, lifting his head up. "Stop naggin' me. Bad enough I fucked up the bodyguard gig. You gotta remind me too?"

"So what? You've fucked up jobs before, but you never acted like this. What's goin' on?"

"You really wanna know?" Guy lifted up his glass and took a sip before slamming it down on the table. "Alright. Me and the blokes have a job to do. We gotta protect the son of this local gang leader, look after a twenty-something year old because daddy's syndicate is stepping on some toes and stirring up shit. Simple enough, just stay hidden until we help get him to Taiwan safe and sound. On the off-time before the job, the day before, there was a woman—"

"You got V.D.?"

"No."

"Really a man?"

"No."

"Couldn't perform?"

"Will you shut the fuck up and let me tell the story?"

"Sorry, mate."

"Thank you," Guy said snidely. He ran a large hand over the short red hair before taking another drink. "A work of art, she was. Black hair, nice skin, long legs. Tall, this high, with a red China dress and great curves. Had a nice pair of tits for an Asian, too..."

"Bad experience in bed?"

"Something like that," Guy said, taking yet another drink. "Wasn't with me, though. Jimmy brought his girl Mandy along for the trip and managed to get the chink in bed with the both of 'em. I was jealous. Hell, all the guys were."

"A real casanova he was. So, what, you're sore because Jimmy had a three way romp and you were left to take a cold shower?"

"At the time, we didn't think too much of it," Guy said. "Heard the whole thing next door. Thought they were enjoying it, but then the screams..." He took a moment to compose himself. Ieoan leaned forward.

"... Yeah?"

"The screams changed, they were different somehow, but we all didn't bother. Too full of ourselves, just fell asleep. The next morning, we've got a job to do, but Jimmy hasn't come out of the room. I'm pissed because I thought he slept in. I kick open the door to tell him to wake the hell up and he's..."

"Dead?" Ieoan guessed.

"Worse than that," Guy put his hand over his mouth. "Chink bitch was gone. Blood everywhere. It looked like Jimmy and Mandy were put in a fuckin' blender."

"Well, then... That's quite unfortunate for them. But you had the rest of your men, right?"

"Didn't do us much good," Guy said. "Jimmy was our translator. Hell, all the Chinese I know is 'Bruce Lee' and 'mushu gai pan'. Fuck it all!" He pounded the table.

"We didn't think we'd come across a merc so soon. Confused the hell out of us, though. Why only Jimmy and not the rest of us? She could have done us all over that night. But then it hit me. Jimmy wasn't just a random choice; he had Mandy with him. It's one thing to kill another killer, but to kill a woman who has nothing to do with it, that's stone cold. It was a warning. 'Back out while you can or there'll be no mercy.' I bet she figured it'd be easier to get to the kid without us in the way. But we weren't going to take that shit from some China moll, and the pay was too good to give up. Brilliant idea that was..."

"And the plot thickens," Ieoan said.

"Didn't have the time to find a cleaner, so we had to do it ourselves. Most disgusting shit I've ever done in my life. After that, the five of us left to meet up with our business partners in a studio, like those ones for filming, but the place hadn't been used for years. The lights didn't work, so it was pretty dark in there. The only light that made it into the place was the sunlight through holes in the ceiling. We saw the son and understood why he needed protection. A real scrawny type, needed to get out more, probably couldn't even hold a gun right. Hard to believe his father was a gang leader. What kind of bastard raises such a useless—" He shook his head.

"Anyway, he was there with six more bodyguards from the Triad dressed in suits. You understand that Jimmy was in no condition to help us talk with the Chinamen, so we were stuck waving our arms around and reading out of a translation dictionary. They looked at us like we were idiots and laughed. The guy in front gives us a weird smile and says in perfect English 'I assume you are the extra help? I hope you all fight better than you speak Cantonese.' Fucking assholes!"

Ieoan squished his lips up toward his nose.

"So you've been upset this month because of a language barrier? I never took you to be embarrassed over somethin' like that," Ieoan said.

"Then there's this small flash that comes out of nowhere," Guy said grimly, bringing his drink to his lips, but not taking a single sip. "It moved in a curve from above, took the guy's head clear off and disappeared as it swung back into the air. We all take out our guns, and the flash appears again. One guy's stomach splits open and the top half bends back."

"Shit," Ieoan exclaimed.

"The son starts freaking out and the Chinamen start giving us dirty looks, like we were the ones behind it. Then the shooting started. Two of my guys catch lead with their skulls and another one of theirs drops dead. By that point, there's three of them and four of us. Everyone scatters around the studio and takes cover, no one knows what the fuck is going on, the kid is pissing his pants. Then there's this strange sound, like... metal in the air."

"Like the music?"

"No, like a weapon," Guy specified. "Next thing I know, I turn to see one of my guys split open from head to gut. One half fell this way, the other half fell that way."

"Egh," Ieoan grimaced.

"Three and three now," Guy said. "The kid is screaming like a little girl at this point and all six of us start yelling at each other, want to know what the hell is going on. Of course we have no answers. Then it comes to me. That woman Jimmy picked up..."

"Called on by a third party?"

"Had to be hired by a rival Triad. Just when I had the thought, that flash appears again and I see it's a huge knife attached to a rope. Took off all the other gunman's heads at once, and then a second knife comes out of nowhere and slices off the son's head too."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ieoan said hurriedly. "Knives against guns? Who does that in this day and age?"

"Like something out a movie, right?" Guy drolled. "The knives disappear and we're on our toes. We see a shadow move and shoot at it, but we just hit the abandoned equipment. Best we did was take out the lens of a stage light. Next thing I know, the knives fly out. Whizzed right past me. Thought it was bad aim for a second, but the mystery killer was really aiming for the guys on both sides of me. The knives were right in here." He pointed at the hollow of his neck.

"Then they were pulled out before I could get a hold of one of the ropes. Blood sprayed out of their necks and I got covered."

"Gross."

"I try to move and I see something jump just above a screen. I raise my gun to shoot at it, but then little knives come flying toward me and caught my sleeves. Pinned me against the damn floor and knocked my gun out of my hand. Then..."

"Then what? What?" Ieoan bounced forward in his seat and leaned in like an eager child listening to a story around a campfire.

"I had one of those 'moments of clarity' that people talk about. Must've been the adrenalin or something. I noticed that the screen I shot above was actually some crappy background mural. You know, like those Chinese paintings with the mountains and clouds in those old school kung fu epics. Where I was pinned, I saw there were these little rays of light shining on the stupid thing. Then the shadow did a somersault over the background piece and landed in front of it. Sure enough, it was that China bitch."

"Not very surprising," Ieoan commented.

"She was holding these big, curved knives, and there was so much blood dripping off 'em. She was wearing the same red dress, but she had a white jacket with it this time. Had this really bad look in her eyes, like a dragon or somethin'. A real killer. For a second it looked like the mural behind her moved along with her, like she was a part of the damn thing."

"Never took you for the poetic type," said Ieoan. Guy ignored him.

"She walks over to me and leans over, and I just know she's going to kill me. Then she brings her face real close and..."

"... _And_? C'mon, there's gotta be more! Unless I'm talking to a ghost, I know she didn't kill you."

"She smiles and she _laughs_. Then she starts talking really high pitched in this broken pattern, like that hooker from _Full Metal Jacket_. 'Son is dead. Job is done. You boys just extra work, get in way.' Then she puts one of her knives to my neck, but she didn't cut."

"Why?"

"I wondered the same thing. She just held it there for a long time and watched me before saying something like, 'No worry. Not going to insult my companions by killing you. Your blood no good.' Before I can say anything back, she sinks her fingers into the crook of my neck and I pass out."

"Bad ending to a bad movie," Ieoan said. "So then what?"

"I woke up, she was gone, and I got the hell out of there."

There was a moment of silence as Guy downed what was left of his mai tai.

"Damn, mate," said Ieoan. "Bullets are common for us, but a knife? It's downright medieval. No wonder you've been in such a poor mood this week. Seeing all those blokes die that way. Can't blame you for—"

"YOU DUMB ASS, THAT'S NOT WHY I'M DEPRESSED!"

The other patrons in the bar stopped what they were doing and looked over at the melodramatic scene. Guy pressed his forehead against the table as Ieoan put a hand on his shoulder and tried to shush his friend.

"What? Then what are you so upset about?"

Ieoan recoiled when Guy lifted his head and started crying uncontrollably.

"She told me I was no good! No good! What the fuck is that about? She thought all those other guys were worth it, but I'm not worth shit? Why? Why am I not worth it? Why? _Why_? _WHY_?" A blubbering Guy repeatedly banged his head on the table in despair.

Noticing the strange looks they were getting from the bar, Ieoan cringed and looked down uncomfortably at his friend before turning toward the audience.

"Uh... She was a very beautiful woman."

The bar seemed to mumble in understanding and carried on.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

**Six Months Later**

"So now we need a gun for hire."

The cigarette smoke momentarily blocked the view of the window overlooking the city of Roanapur. Low, jazz-esque music played in the background.

"How unfortunate for our delivery boy to die on the last job. But, there's no use crying over spilled milk."

There was a puff of smoke rings before he went on.

"It's been on my mind. The _Tiandihui_ spoke highly of a new face. They called her 'the myth'. Haha, whatever that means. But, if our allies are willing to give a kind word to this stranger, then I feel comfortable giving the new blood a chance. I have the contact number, and the usual getaway driver should be free as well. Let's give them a call."

"Yes, Chang _da ge_."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

The rejected tourist trap of San Zhi, an alien village of puck-shaped buildings, the paint had almost completely chipped off the smooth surfaces and left a sickening array of rust against a yellow foundation. Most of the windows were shattered and the sky above was a familiar, dreary grey.

What an eyesore, Shenhua thought as she applied her makeup. She was sitting at an abandoned table in one of the pod-like buildings on the floor level. Every so often, she glanced out of the shattered window.

With an audible smooch after applying her lipstick, the Taiwanese freelancer decided she had put on enough for the time being and put her compact away.

Keeping herself occupied, she took out a white cloth and began to polish her blades, thinking.

Liuyedao certainly hadn't lied to her when he told her the road would be harsh. Yes, he could have given her a recommendation, but how would that look down the line? "You're not a real outlaw. The only reason you got this far was because you had someone hold your hand." That wouldn't do. She wanted to prove herself, regardless of how difficult a new start would be. Indeed, when she completed her training four years ago and went out into the criminal underworld, a warrior wasn't the first thing that came to the minds of many when they laid eyes on the woman.

She was hesitant at first, seeing stupid _guilao_ and locals alike slobber and trip over their own feet and start pulling out dollar bills. Then, she heard her mother's voice.

"_My child, people treat sex like a game, but they seldom know how to play it properly. They think once they're in bed, the game is over. Don't make this mistake. Leading the way to the bedroom is only a warm-up. After you get into bed... That is when the real game begins, and that is when you will have the greatest advantage. They think the game is over, but you know better. You see them lose their strength; they leave themselves vulnerable, and when they're at the pinnacle of their weakness, _you destroy them._"_

Shenhua smirked at the thought. Certainly not a conventional sex-talk for a nine year old, but then again, Jin Long wasn't a conventional mother, and she didn't have the fortune of being a knife fighter, only the luck of having such a fighter fall for her. Mind games and psychological manipulation was all the iron dragon had to fall back on.

The smirk went away.

She had tried everything to make a name for herself in the beginning, but to no avail. Seduction was the last resort.

It was hard at first. Sway and talk with false lust, lure potential targets with a mangled siren song and perform like a circus acrobat in the bedroom. The show was sickening to her, but the finale was always grand.

For that was when her lovely companions would come out.

Shenhua smiled and proudly held up the khukri she polished. Her blades, her lovely blades. The cold steel was always a comfort and a reliable ally. Over time, the blades took priority in criminal's heads rather than her body, and people learned that the woman in the red silk qipao wasn't a gangster's moll or common whore. She was a killer hiding behind the mask of a cheerful dragon lady, and anyone who was savvy to the tales knew better than to question her place.

She frowned for a moment, wondering if that was entirely due to Liuyedao's training or if Jin Long's vicious aura was hereditary.

She saw a subtle glint on her second khukri, as though trying to communicate with her. The smile came back. No, no doubts. She was a true outlaw. Why else would the notorious Mr. Chang hire her for this job?

Speaking of Mr. Chang and the job, where was that getaway driver that was supposed to assist her?

She sighed and held her chin in her hand, flipping one of her khukri in the air and catching it by the handle. Over and over and over...

At long last, she saw a green Jeep Cherokee pull in front of the puck-like building she waited in.

Strange, she thought. As the window of the driver's side gradually rolled down, she noticed an odd amount of smoke coming out of the vehicle. She then noticed a somewhat scrappy looking Caucasian man with blonde hair in his mid-thirties wearing circular, dark green sunglasses and a pistachio tinted shirt. He wasn't looking at her and seemed busy fiddling around with his glove box. Shenhua stepped out of the futuristic pod-building and walked over to the car.

"You my getaway driver?"

The man snarled at the words and yelled in an extremely thick Irish accent.

"No, I'm a fokkin' lawyer! What do you—!" As he turned his head to look at her, he stopped mid-sentence. His jaw slightly fell as he looked the Taiwanese woman up and down, before resting his arm along the top of the car door with a grin.

"Well, hello there, darlin'! You sure you're that nasty killer the Triads told me to pick up?"

Shenhua growled and slapped the man across the face, nearly knocking off the sunglasses.

"Ah! Oh, hell yes, you are!" The slap did nothing to eliminate that goofy grin. He adjusted his green shades. "I can tell I don't even need the password. 'I am Guan Yu, the go—'"

"'The god of war and he who stands for honor.' Okay, we know we on same side. I get in car now and we go pick up squealer, yes?"

"You're right to the point, ain't ya, baby? Alright, hop in!"

"I not your baby," Shenhua quipped.

The Irish blonde leaned over the passenger seat and opened the door on that side. Shenhua walked around the front of the car and slid into the khaki colored seat. She immediately noticed a weird smell, cannabis, but said nothing about it. As long as he was well enough to drive...

He put the vehicle in gear and started to pat the dashboard as he pulled away.

"Don't you worry now, baby! This Cherokee is best 4-wheeler in the world! Hell, I once raced across the entire continent of Europe with nothin' but this car and a baggie of the good stuff!"

She laid back and sighed deeply.

"I tell you already, I not your baby. Call me one more time and I cut off your balls."

"Feisty one, ain't ya?" the blonde man said. "Well, if ya don't want me callin' ya baby, what is your name?"

"Shenhua," she said simply. The Irish man's grin grew wider as he drove out of the village of broken pods.

"Nice meetin' ya, Shenhua. I'm Leigarch," he said proudly. "So, uh... Shenhua?"

"Hm?"

"You seein' anyone?"

"Shut up and drive, Lucky Charms."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

The crickets chirped as a half moon hung in the sky. The prospect of the hunt was simple enough. Go to Taipei City, break into the apartment and acquire the target so the would be squealer couldn't turn himself in, arrive in court and testify against the 14K. Simple, very simple.

But she didn't exactly count on the little snitch hiring 20 body guards.

She had luckily acquired the target in question and tossed the body in the back seat of the car. If they pulled away at the right time, the 12 guns for hire that were left wouldn't be able to catch up. A panting Shenhua quickly got into the passenger's seat.

"Leigarch, drive!"

"Huh... Whaaat?"

Her eyes grew and her jaw dropped upon registering the man's condition. Eyes dilated, body slumped, a laced joint hanging loosely from his lips. The junkie bastard was high!

"Not believe this!" she screeched. "We on job and you get high while I gone! What in fuck wrong with you?" Hearing approaching gunfire, she reeled back before making her fist connect with the Irishman's jaw. Leigarch shook his head before wailing.

"Ahhh! Don't worry, space princess! I'll get you to Mars!"

Confusion blended with her rage as she saw Leigarch turn the key in the ignition and put the Cherokee in drive before putting his foot to the floor.

Her body moved violently and she gripped the dashboard for stability as Leigarch wildly jerked the car about and went well beyond the appropriate speed limit for the streets of Taipei City.

"What in hell?"

Bullets collided with the metal exterior of the Jeep as three black sedans trailed too close for comfort behind them.

"Oh, no! The Klingons are attacking, space princess! I gotta give the ship a boost and take a detour through the asteroid belt! Hold on!"

The car increased more speed than what she thought was possible. Shenhua's face would have smashed against the dashboard if she hadn't been holding onto it for dear life. A scream got caught in her throat as Leigarch swerved onto the other side of the street into oncoming traffic. She stared into the headlights of a blaring truck. So this was how she was going to die...

At the last second, Leigarch jerked the Cherokee to the side and avoided a head on collision with the other vehicle. The sedan that was following behind them wasn't so fortunate.

The horrific metallic crunch quickly faded away. With a queer precision, Leigarch managed to turn at the right moments and avoid colliding with any of the other vehicles. The blonde man giggled wildly as his vision swam between the oncoming cars and the pretty lights of the buildings lining the street. Shenhua struggled to compose herself and saw one of the remaining two sedans pull up along her side of the Jeep.

Glaring, she rolled down the window and threw her khukri at the driver, slicing off the top of his scalp. The driver's hands slipped off the steering wheel and the car clipped an oncoming vehicle at the wrong angle, causing the sedan to flip over and crash into a marketplace.

"We're almost there, space princess!"

More bullets peppered the back of the Jeep Cherokee and the rear window shattered. Shenhua looked in the rear view mirror. Two of them were sticking out of the side windows holding machine guns. Just wonderful.

Shenhua looked up and noticed the open sunroof. She could climb up and kill the remaining gunmen with her blades. Yet if she stuck her head up, it would have been like open season. A bullet whizzed through the broken back window and passed by the side of her head. She looked at her khukri with an iron resolve. She didn't become a freelancer to play it safe. A real warrior would fight to the death.

"Ahhh! No, Great Queen of Amazonia! I didn't mean to make fun of your basketball game!"

Shenhua ignored him climbed through the sunroof. The great distance affected the gunmen's aim and bullets flew past. How lucky. As she swayed to match the Cherokee's movements and put herself in sync with the vehicle as not to topple over, she reached for the throwing daggers strapped to her thighs and zeroed in on the gunmen's hands and arms before throwing the sharp projectiles. They grimaced and dropped their guns. Shenhua then took hold of the red tethers that connected her blades and swung the mimic rope-darts over her head in a circle. She smiled.

"Let us dance."

The khukri whistled through the air as it came across and lopped off the head of the gunman on Shenhua's right, then the left. The bodies fell out of the windows and spilled into the street.

The only remaining bodyguard, the driver, attempted to shoot her with one arm hanging out of the window. The Taiwanese hunter pulled the rope in an upward motion and the blade on the end followed. She then pulled down, moving her khukri in a downward arc and took off the driver's arm. The driver screamed and turned the steering wheel to far to the right, making the sedan spin out of control and crash into nearby building.

The Taiwanese woman grinned as the sedan exploded in a burst of flame. She would have to savor this moment; she doubted she would get another opportunity to do something like that again.

"I can see it, space princess! The surface of Mars! Look, look! Ahahaha!"

Shenhua looked over her shoulder and saw trees in the far off distance.

She slipped down off the edge of the sunroof and plopped into her seat, looking over at the giggling Irish junkie with an unamused expression. She wondered if Mr. Chang partnered her with Leigarch because he truly was a good getaway driver or if it was simply because the Triad boss had a weird sense of humor. How strange, the man was off on Mars yet his driving was nearly impeccable.

But exactly how long would it take Leigarch to get back from there?

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

As the sun began to emerge over the horizon, a giant hornet landed on the hood of the car before flying away when a shrill cry echoed through the woods.

"My interior! My brand new interior! It's ruined!"

Leigarch banged his head against the steering wheel. He was on the verge of tears while Shenhua applied her makeup and fixed her hair. The target she had acquired last night had regained consciousness and he squirmed in the bloody back seat as he struggled against his bonds.

"We have snitch. Job almost done. We get paid later and you fix with your half," Shenhua said.

"Baby, do you have any idea how much that'll cost? And that's not countin' the bodywork 'n' windows!"

"What I tell you before? Not call me 'baby'."

"How in the hell did this much blood get back there?" Leigarch screamed. "I don't see any cuts on the bastard!"

"It blood from other guards, ones who not chase us in car. His clothes act just like sponge," Shenhua squeaked, applying eyeliner. Leigarch gave her a queer glance.

"What're you doing that for? No one's gonna see us all the way out here in the woods."

Shenhua lifted her left eyebrow in an arch, understanding he was talking about the makeup.

"I freelancer, warrior for hire. Killing sacred to me, show respect to look best on battlefield and always be ready for fight." That was part of it. The unspoken half of her confession was that of want and vanity. Makeup, she was never allowed such a luxury when she was training. Making up for lost time, she supposed.

Leigarch lifted his shoulders and leaned back in his seat.

"Well, then, the sun's comin' up. We better shove that guy in a suitcase pretty quick. We gotta get ready to hit the port and get on our boat. Mr. Chang wanted the guy alive when we deliver him to Roanapur."

"You know why he want us come all that way with goods to a hostel?" Shenhua asked, putting away her compact.

"Make sure the guy doesn't run away, I guess."

"I mean why he want snitch alive, Leigarch."

The Irishman traced his thumb and index finger over the hair on his chin.

"Oh, uh... I think to make a example of him. You've delivered to cleaners before, right?"

"Many time," Shenhua said.

"Well, Mr. Chang wants this particular weasel to be a very special example. Wants us to drop him off to a guy named Adolph at that hostel you mentioned."

The center section of duct tape over the snitch's mouth came loose when he screamed at the top of his lungs upon hearing the name.

"NOOOOOO! NOT ADOLPH! ANYONE BUT HIM! NO! PLEASE, NO-O-O!"

"Oi, shut up!" Leigarch reached underneath his seat and handed Shenhua a roll of duct tape. She ripped off a long strip, put it over the squealer's mouth and wrapped it around the back of his head. She then pinched a nerve near the man's neck and he fell asleep.

"So, we go to Roanapur next?" Shenhua asked, handing the duct tape back over to Leigarch. After placing the roll back under his seat, he turned the key and put the car in drive.

"Yes, indeed. You ever been to Roanapur?" Leigarch asked.

"No, but I... hear about it," Shenhua said. A city spoken of in hushed tones and whispers in the underworld. Even as far back when she was still living with her mother, she would hear criminals talk about it.

"Oh, you'd love it there," Leigarch said with no trace of sarcasm. "Only real villains live in Roanapur. You're into that 'spirit of an outlaw' stuff, yeah? There are plenty of people like that there. Plenty of jobs, too. Can't really understand that hunting instinct and all that, but then again... I'm in a different tier." Leigarch pulled a small bag with a powdery substance out of the pocket of his shirt to explain what he meant before putting it back in.

"I see," Shenhua said, looking at her reflection in her twin khukri.

"If you liked this job, there'd be plenty more waitin' for ya in Roanapur. If Mr. Chang likes your work, you could get more gigs like this in the future."

Shenhua hummed quietly, looking at the sunlight glint off her blades. That was nice thought.

"Just be careful," Leigarch laughed. "If you got any attachments to this country, you'd better be ready to let 'em go. Roanapur's a city of death, sucks in villains like a black hole. I know some guys who went there for a short vacation; they've been on vacation now for ten years, if they're not dead. So... you got a home here?"

"I move often. Not really live in one place too long. Go where work is," Shenhua said.

"Really?" Leigarch pried. "So you don't really have any place you'd want to say goodbye to if you stayed in Roanapur? No people you'd want to see one last time in case the Grim Reaper comes callin'?"

Shenhua's eyes had softened as a memory flooded her mind.

_"I thought you told me 'No more knives,'" Shenhua sniffled, wiping at one eye._

_"I changed my mind."_

_Shenhua looked down at the weapon, unsure of what to say._

_"Shenhua," Jin Long said softly, putting a hand on her daughter's cheek, "I know you don't understand now, but I am only doing what is best for you. This is for your future."_

As she looked down at her khukri, she noticed a tiny blood stain on the blade. Her eyes instantly changed to a glare.

For her future, her mother had said all those years ago. A future stained with blood, a path paved in hell. Shenhua enjoyed hunting, but remembering what she had to go through to get this far... The agonizing training sessions that almost killed her every week, all the broken bones, all the cuts, all the bruises, all the wounds, all the grief, all the _pain_ she had to endure for so many years to gain a killer's reputation...

And Jin Long knew it was going to happen the very moment she sent her off with Liuyedao all those years ago.

Her nails dug into the palms of her hands.

"No," Shenhua growled through clenched teeth. "There be no one I want to visit."

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, Shenhua. She understands what she went through was necessary to make her an awesome killer, but let's face it: The road she took to get there sucked. A lot. And her mom knew that and put her through it anyway. Sort of puts a spin on the phrase "tough love".

Yuan's existence is somewhat of an inside joke between Amigodude and me. I think I may have overdone it, though. Hmm...

Points to those who caught the _Futurama _reference. Leigarch is just a little bit ahead of the times. ;)

_Myth _was supposed to be a one-shot in the beginning, but then I realized the story was too long for that. It seemed to me that making people read 20,000 words in one go crossed over the line of "long one-shot" and went into the territory of "cruel and unusual punishment." So I split the story into three main parts plus an epilogue to make it easier on the eyes.

How I imagine Shenhua's time line:

**12 years old** – Her mother sends her off to train with knife fighters in the Philippines.

**17 years old** – Shenhua's initial training is completed and she earns her khukris.

**19-20 years old** – Shenhua's additional training and familiarization with her khukris is completed and her teacher sends her into the criminal underworld.

**23-24 years old** – After having a rough start, Shenhua gradually makes a name for herself and attracts the attention of Mr. Chang. She eventually moves to Roanapur.

**28 years old **– When the "Goat, Jihad, Rock 'n' Roll" arc takes place in the series and Shenhua makes her debut.

Now go read the epilogue.

Cheers.


	4. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

What a trip that first job for Mr. Chang had been.

Fortunately, the police never did link the murders of the 20 bodyguards to the 14K Triad. However, the story of the high speed chase was all over the news at the time. There were luckily no photographs taken of the chaotic chase through Taipei City, but the stories of a mysterious knife woman in a red silk dress riding on top of a jeep spread like wildfire. So many of the witnesses interviewed were saying things like "She was so cool!" and "It was like the child of a _wuxia_ epic and an action flick!" She was nervous that Mr. Chang would be upset with her for such a public display, yet to her surprise, the man was more amused than angry, and he was impressed that she managed to take down all those gunmen.

"But really, try to be more discreet next time, new blood," she remembered him say.

She kept that in mind on this current job in Roanapur, and as she sliced off the head of another freelancer, she admired the way the blood and light from the sunset blended and illuminated the beauty of her companions.

The dark blue eyes glimmered and the corners of her mouth rose in a predatory grin.

How beautiful.

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Low, sultry music played in the background. An overpowering scent of sandalwood incense wafted through the air of the bar and brothel, and the young women attached themselves to the arms of the paying patrons, taking them upstairs. The man scanned the area analytically and walked up to an old barkeep in a standard white shirt and black vest lazily cleaning a glass.

"Excuse me, sir, but where may I find Jin Long?"

The barkeep stopped cleaning and titled his head up with a look of disbelief.

"We have other girls here, you know," the barkeep said immediately. "Why don't you try that lovely young girl over there? Fresh from Vietnam, or that—"

"No, thank you. Jin Long, where is she?"

"She doesn't service your type anymore," the barkeep said. The man cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, what do you mean by 'my type'?" he asked curiously. The barkeep slammed the glass down.

"A man with a pulse," said the barkeep. "Trust me! You're better off not provoking—!"

The man turned around and tapped the shoulder of a passing Thai prostitute in a yellow tube top and a black mini skirt.

"Excuse me? Would you mind telling me which room belongs to Jin Long?"

"Why, you in a rush to die?" she asked with lackluster. "Go up those stairs, turn right and go down the hall, then turn left at the end and keep walking until you see a door with a dragon above it."

"Thank you." The man took the hooker's advice and the barkeep looked on with pity.

"Don't say we didn't warn you!"

Ignoring the inquisitive glances of the women he passed, the man went up the stairs and turned right. He strode down a hall with many doors on either side, the floor decorated with red carpet and hanging paper lanterns from the ceiling. He eventually came to the end of the hall and turned left.

Very odd, he thought. Instead of a string along the corners where the ceiling and wall met, there was a single, lonely lantern dangling at the end of the short hall. The area was slightly darker than the rest of the brothel due to the lack of light from the main hallway. It was then that the man saw it, a fierce dragon emblem hanging above the door. He walked over and knocked.

The door opened with a creak, only cracking an inch, revealing a cold, glaring eye. Upon registering who the man was, the eye went away and the door opened completely.

The man's breath was momentarily taken. There stood an aged Taiwanese woman, her hair held up in a style reminiscent of empresses past, the once solid black strands now greying at the roots. She wore more modest dress compared to the prostitutes he had seen, an elaborate black qipao with golden accents and an ebony fur stole around her shoulders. Her dark, blood red lips complimented the fair toned skin of her face. And her eyes... though the jaded lines underneath were more defined, a tell-tale sign of older age, that steel-like gaze was still there.

"Liuyedao," she whispered.

The knife fighter stepped into her room and looked around.

"So this is where you live now? It's bigger than the apartment." He observed the ivory vanity next to the bed and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she turned around and closed the door.

"So you're a madame now. You've moved up in the world, Jin Long."

"How did you find me?" she asked evenly, unsurprised.

Liuyedao smirked.

"I used to make a living tracking down targets. I have my ways," he said mysteriously. "That, and when I asked the apartment manager where you were, 'Jin Long became a madame and owns the brothel ten blocks over' helped a little."

"Why are you here?" the iron dragon asked.

"After all our time apart, I need a reason to see you?" asked the serpent, bemused.

"I thought I told you never to see me again," she said. "As long as Shenhua is training—"

"Shenhua is done training," the serpent informed her. "Has been done for a long time now."

Jin Long's eyes narrowed and her lips parted.

"She's a hunter now?"

"Yes."

"How is she?" Jin Long asked. Liuyedao looked off the side.

"As fine as a person who kills for a living can be," the serpent said. "So I think. She doesn't contact me much. What about you? Has she talked to you at all?"

"..."

The iron dragon could find no words. She pushed past the serpent and sat at her vanity, taking off the thin fur stole and putting her hair down. The serpent gave a look of understanding.

"... I never took you for the type to wear fur," Liuyedao said, referring to the stole she set down.

"Makes it easier to choke idiots causing trouble," she responded flatly. Liuyedao wasn't entirely certain if that was true or an attempt at humor. Possibly both.

"And don't change the subject," snarled the iron dragon. "As far as I know, Shenhua hasn't made an effort to contact me."

"... I'm sorry," the serpent whispered.

"What are you sorry for?" she growled. "She's a grown woman now. She makes her own decisions. If she doesn't feel like seeing me, so be it."

She looked down, her eyes betraying the harshness of her words.

"And besides," she said, her voice never wavering. "You remember what you said when we made our agreement? 'She will despise you if you send her down this path.' I accepted that long ago."

There was a long silence between them as Jin Long brushed her hair.

"... She's gained much success over such a short period of time," Liuyedao said.

"Oh?"

"I believe she's taken up residence in Roanapur."

Jin Long stopped brushing mid-stroke. There was a flash of nostalgia over the steel-like eyes.

"That... place we ran off to so long ago?"

She saw Liuyedao nod in the mirror.

"What a city that was. So overwhelming," said the iron dragon grimly. "... Do you think Shenhua is happy there?"

Liuyedao put his hand on her shoulder.

"Only the greatest of villains thrive in Roanapur. After seeing what Shenhua is capable of over the years..." He stopped to find the appropriate words. He could sense Jin Long's unease, but he had to be honest.

"Yes, I think she is very happy."

Jin Long put her hand over Liuyedao's.

"Then that is all that matters."

- 0 - 0 - 0 -

Birthed in the underworld and raised to thrive in the pit of whence she came, joy and fortune found in a city of evil. So ends this tale of a child born to a dragon of metal and a serpent of blood, so ends this epic of a grand killer. But at the end of the telling of an origin, so starts a new tale of adventure and lore, so starts a new tale in a wicked city, and so starts another legend of a living myth.

But that's a story for another time.

**THE END**


End file.
